The final leg of his three-day African tour, President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi landed in Zimbabwe on Thursday and met with President Emmerson Mnangagwa and other stakeholders, including members of the country’s Muslim population.
The goal of Raisi’s journey, the first by an Iranian leader in 11 years, was to fortify international diplomatic contacts after years of exile.
As he welcomed Raisi, Mnangagwa urged the countries subject to Western sanctions to cooperate.
The United States has imposed sanctions on Iran and Zimbabwe; in Zimbabwe, there are people who have been targeted because of alleged corruption and violations of human rights.
“It is critically important that we, the victims of Western sanctions, are talking to each other … that we show them that we’re united,” Mnangagwa told a press briefing after talks with Raisi.
The two leaders signed “a record” 12 agreements on topics ranging from energy to telecommunications Mnangagwa said.
Ashlegh Pfunye, the chief secretary of the Harare-based Citizens Manifesto, a non-governmental policy and governance organization, applauded Mnangagwa’s administration for its attempts to strengthen ties with Iran but cautioned the move due to the two countries’ shared history of Western sanctions.
“I think our ties shouldn’t be based on that. That is why it is important to understand our interests because we end up finding our ties on levels that don’t build countries,” Pfunye told newsmen.
According to Pfunye, Zimbabwe must give top priority to internal governance that can affect the lifting of sanctions.
In contrast to Pfunye, Melody Muzenda, a spokeswoman for the ZANU-PF party in Zimbabwe, claimed Raisi’s visit “shows we (Zimbabwe) have good relations with other countries.”
Raisi traveled to Kenya and Uganda before his journey to Zimbabwe, where he met with Yoweri Museveni and William Ruto to discuss international affairs.
The spokeswoman for Iran’s foreign ministry, Nasser Kanani, described Raisi’s trip to Africa as “a new turning point” that might strengthen the country’s economic and trade connections with the region.