TEHRAN (FNA)- South African President Jacob Zuma underlined Iran’s inalienable right to use nuclear technology for civilian purposes.


Zuma made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on Wednesday.

He also urged Tehran and Pretoria to promote economic relations and increase mutual cooperation between the two countries.

Larijani, for his part, underlined the importance of parliamentary relations between Iran and South Africa.

In relevant remarks on Tuesday, Larijani underlined Tehran's eagerness to expand economic ties with the African nations, specially South Africa and Congo.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always paid special attention to political and economic relations with the African states,” Larijani told reporters before leaving Tehran for South Africa and Congo on Tuesday morning.

He expressed the hope that his trip would further pave the ground for parliamentary relations between Iran and the two Africa states, and said he planned to discuss ways of bolstering economic cooperation in his meetings with South African and Congolese officials.

“The two countries of South Africa and Congo are among Iran’s friends and have nearly close parliamentary ties and good developmental cooperation with the Islamic Revolution,” Larijani said.

Iran 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.

By Fars News Agency

 

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