South African President Jacob Zuma has called for the expansion of bilateral relations between his country and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
At a Thursday meeting with Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in South Africas capital city of Pretoria on the sidelines of the 11th meeting of the Iran-South Africa Cooperation Commission, Zuma voiced support for the agreements achieved in the course of the event.
Zarif, for his part, extended President Hassan Rouhanis invitation to Zuma to visit Iran and expressed gratitude to the South African government for hosting the meeting of the commission.
Zuma expressed optimism that his visit to Iran will provide the ground to exploit the existing potentials in line with the interests of both nations and promotion of bilateral ties.
The 11th meeting of Iran-South Africa Joint Cooperation Commission, which began on October 30 after a four-year hiatus, was co-chaired by Zarif and South Africas Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Emily Nkoana-Mashabane.
Zarifs trip to South Africa was his first official visit to Africa as foreign minister, during which he also met with some high ranking officials of the country.