After arriving in South African city of Pretoria on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held the first round of bilateral talks with his South African counterpart Lindiwe Sisulu late on Tuesday.
The bilateral talks are scheduled to continue on Wednesday while Mr. Zarif is heading a senior politico-economic delegation, in a bid to further expand relations with the African country,
Also after the Tuesday meeting with Ms. Sisulu, the Iranian diplomatic chief attended at a formal banquet thrown by his South African counterpart.
The top Irainan diplomat is also slated to have a bilateral meeting with the South African president on Wednesday.
After US unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear agreement of July 14, 2015, Iran has staged active diplomacy in strengthening bilateral ties in the face of imminent US sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Prior to this trip, Mr. Zarif traveled to Indian capital city of New Delhi where he managed to achieve agreements with senior Indian officials to keep bilateral ties and trade intact by the US hostile measures.
The Iranian diplomatic chief had another two day visit to Pretoria earlier in 2017.
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