President on African Tour

President Ebrahim Raisi was set to initiate his three-day tour of Africa on Tuesday in line with the government’s policy of diversifying foreign relations. 
He will be visiting Kenia, Uganda and Zimbabwe at the official invitation of his counterparts, IRNA reported. 
Top officials from ministries of health, agriculture and labor, as well as the department of science and technology and knowledge-based economy will be accompanying the president. 
Bilateral meetings with presidents, meeting of the high-ranking delegations, signing memorandums of understanding and attending joint press conferences are among Raisi’s plans on this tour. 
The president will also hold meetings with business people and economic officials of host countries for mutual introduction of capacities. 
This will be the first visit to the African continent by an Iranian president in 11 years. 
Earlier, the first economic cooperation summit of Iran and West African countries was also held in Tehran in March. 
Government Spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi said the main purpose of this trip is to boost ties with friendly and aligned countries and diversify Iran’s export destinations. 
“Although the volume of Iran’s trade with the African continent has seen a 100% hike compared to 2021, this is by no means sufficient and our economic relations must be upgraded in proportion with Africa’s roughly $600 million market,” he said.