South African deputy FM to visit Tehran today

South Africa's Deputy Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ibrahim is due to visit Tehran on Tuesday to meet with high-ranking Iranian officials and discuss the latest developments in the relations between the two countries."I will visit Iran from April 16 to 18 at the invitation of the Islamic Republic of Iran's deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs (Hossein Amir Abdollahian) who visited South Africa in May 2012," Ibrahim said in a statement before his departure for Tehran on Tuesday.He said one the most important objectives of his visit is exchange of views between the two countries as well as reviewing the implementation of bilateral agreements and assessing the related potentials, specially in training and environmental fields.Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration has striven hard to maximize relations with the African continent.Iran is also an observing member of the AU and has shown an active presence in previous AU summit meetings.The country is considered as one of the AU's strategic partners along with India, Japan, China, several South American states and Turkey, while Tehran is also believed to be prioritizing promotion of its economic and political ties with the African states.