Iranian Parliamentary Delegation Due in Ethiopia Tomorrow
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An Iranian parliamentary delegation is due to travel to the Ethiopian capital city of Addis Ababa on Wednesday, Parliament Speaker’s International Affairs Adviser Hossein Sheiholeslam said on Tuesday.
“The five-member delegation will be led by Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi… and is scheduled to meet the Ethiopian Parliament Speaker Abadula Gemeda, the Ethiopian head of Iran-Ethiopia Friendship Group, and some other high ranking Ethiopian lawmakers,” he told the Tasnim News Agency.
Sheikholeslam said that during their four day visit, the Iranian parliamentary delegation will exchange ideas with the Ethiopian parliamentarians about bilateral relations, regional and international developments and certain political and economic issue of mutual interest.
Iranian companies have already implemented some projects in Ethiopia, mainly in the energy fields.
Iran is also looking forward to having continued political consultations and dialogue with Ethiopia in order to share ideas and coordinate policies while engaging in different international and regional issues.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has repeatedly said that his government welcomes boosting relations with African nations.
To that end, Tehran has engaged in a flurry of diplomatic exchanges with African states and clinched several cooperation agreements.
Tehran has put emphasis on promotion of its economic and political ties with the African states and the country is now considered as one of the African Union’s strategic partners.
Tehran’s efforts to boost ties and cooperation with Africa have led to its acceptance as an observer member of the African Union (AU), where it has shown an active presence in the AU summit meetings.
Ethiopia is Africa's oldest independent country and its second largest in terms of population. It is also one of Africa's poorest states as many Ethiopians depend on food aid from abroad.
The economy revolves around agriculture, which in turn relies on rainfall. It is one of Africa's leading coffee producers.
Ethiopia is one of the founding members of the UN, the Non-Aligned Movement, G-77 and the Organisation of African Unity, with Addis Ababa serving as the headquarters of the African Union, the Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the UNECA, the African Standby Force and much of global NGOs focused on Africa.