Minister of Economy and Finance Ali Tayyebnia’s final day of his official visit to Kenya last week (Iranian weekdays end Friday) was packed with meetings with government officials.
Tayyebnia delivered a keynote speech in the closing ceremony of the 14th conference of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development on Thursday before returning home.
“The Iranian economy relies on domestic resources and constructive collaboration with world economies,” he said in his speech, IRNA reported.
“Inclusiveness and extroversion are two main features of a new economic model, better known as the Resistance Economy, which Iran has adapted.”
Resistance Economy refers to a set of principles outlined by the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei for the Iranian economy with the aim of bolstering domestic production and cutting dependence on oil revenues.
In a meeting with UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi, Tayyebnia recalled Iran’s economic achievements during the sanctions regime and the plans devised for post-sanctions era and said the government is determined to attract and support domestic and foreign investment and overcome obstacles that keep the country from reaching this goal.
“Iran, among other things, is willing to enjoy UNCTAD experience in the area of investment,” he said.
Kituyi praised the Iranian government’s success in curbing inflation and creation of economic stability and signaled his organization’s readiness to cooperate with Iran.
Tayyebnia also met with his Kenyan counterpart, Henry Rotich, on Thursday and the two discussed ways of improving economic exchanges.
“Despite the longstanding political ties between Tehran and Nairobi, bilateral trade is as little as $57 million a year,” said the Iranian minister, adding that mutual cooperation in agriculture, energy, oil and gas would benefit both countries.
Referring to newly-discovered oil resources in Kenya, such as the March discovery of “an active petroleum system with significant oil generation” in Kerio Valley, according to Quartz Africa, Rotich deemed cooperation with Tehran as helpful “given Iran’s skills in exploration and construction of refineries”.
He also took up Tayyebnia’s invitation for an Iran visit by a delegation consisting of representatives of Kenya’s private and public sectors, particularly those active in banking.
The Iranian minister also met with Central Bank of Kenya’s Governor Patrick Ngugi Njoroge. The two sides underlined the importance of resuming banking ties and removing the remaining barriers in the way of bilateral banking cooperation.
Tayyebnia’s Kenya visit was primarily aimed at participating in the UNCTAD meeting and the World Investment Forum where he called on foreign investors to take advantage of Iran’s stability amid regional volatilities.
The 14th UNCTAD session themed “From Decision to Action: Moving Toward an Inclusive and Equitable Global Economic Environment for Trade and Development” attracted top officials from 194 countries.
