The ceremony was held in the Foreign Ministry, where Zarif congratulated special guest of the ceremony, former Tanzanian President Ali Hassan Mwinyi and African countries at large on the anniversary of Africa Day; “this day is to commemorate a glorious beginning and emancipation from the yoke of the colonialism for the nations of the continent which presents African countries with a new chapter in human dignity,” Zarif said. “This day is a great day of jubilation for all those who walk in the path to freedom.”
“From an economic perspective, today, some of the world economies with high growth rate are in Africa, which portrait a grand vista for the future with large number of population along with high competitiveness and ample and rich natural resources,” Mr. Zarif told the ceremony, hailing as a boon the consensus among African leaders for cooperation in an attempt to fight poverty and to uphold the original pristine African culture.
He voiced Iran’s willingness to cooperate with the continent in all sectors; “to promote a systematic interaction with the continent, Iran has established an African Headquarters headed by first vice-president; this is indication of Iran’s strong resolve to expand bilateral and multilateral ties with all African nations,” Zarif noted.
Zarif pointed to a phrase used to describe African continent in the contemporary political literature, ‘the continent of opportunities,’ sideswiping the spread of violence and terrorism in Africa, and extended criticism to world hegemonic powers for their double standards in dividing the issue to bad and good terrorism, which he believed, was a major cause of the situation in Yemen.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is a victim of terrorism; hence, it has extended hands to all countries who have an honest view of terrorism; the second millennia was an end to racial apartheid and I hope that the third millennia will be an end to scientific, economic and cultural apartheid, which are systematically applied in an illegitimate and tyrannical basis against many countries,” Zarif asserted.
The head of the African ambassadors present in the ceremony expressed gratitude for the Islamic Republic of Iran over holding the ceremony and for warm hospitality lavished on African delegation to the ceremony.
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