Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Hossein Amirabdollahian, on Thursday held talks with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The top diplomat was on an official visit to Pretoria, for the 15th meeting of the Joint Commission of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of South Africa.
During the talks, he expressed satisfaction with the strong and expanding relations between the two countries and the successful outcome of the 15th meeting of the Joint Economic Cooperation Commission. Furthermore, he highlighted the importance of the constructive agreements reached across different sectors and the preparation of multiple cooperation documents.
Amirabdollahian also announced Iran’s acceptance of the invitation to participate in the upcoming BRICS summit. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will be attending the meeting.
The diplomat noted Iran’s vital role in West Asia and South Africa’s influence in the African continent, emphasizing the potential for collaboration between Tehran and Pretoria in various fields given their capacities.
For his part, Ramaphosa conveyed his greetings to the Iranian President Raisi and expressed satisfaction with his acceptance of the invitation to attend the BRICS summit and his upcoming official visit to South Africa in the fall.
He described Raisi’s visit as important and stressed the significance of his Iranian counterpart’s presence at the BRICS summit and South Africa’s keen interest in Iran’s full participation.
Ramaphosa noted that the BRICS summit holds significant global attention and South Africa totally supports Iran’s inclusion as one of its friendly nations.
“We are pleased with the agreements reached at the joint commission meeting and we are ready to implement them,” Ramaphosa maintained.
In addition, he expressed hope that during the upcoming official visit of the Iranian President, several cooperation documents would be signed, leading to the effective implementation of bilateral cooperation agreements across various fields.