Iran and the African continent have a great potential for expanding trade relations through barter of goods, a Foreign Ministry official said.
Mehdi Aqajafari, director general for African affairs, added that the continent is a favorable market for Iranian non-oil goods while it can meet a wide range of Iran's needs.
"By proper planning, the two sides can use the huge opportunities and improve trade through barter," he told ISNA.
Iran has had good relations with African countries over the past decades, according to Aqajafari, and intends to expand ties in the sanctions era by tapping into mutual capacities, especially by supporting the private sector.
After quitting Iran's 2015 nuclear deal last year, the United States reimposed sanctions against Tehran and threatened other countries to cut trade ties with Iran.
Iran has been in talks with its partners and other regional and non-regional states to find ways to bypass the sanctions. Methods of conducting non-dollar trade such as barter are among strategies under consideration.
"Africa is a big market for the export of Iranian technical and engineering services," he said, adding that Iranian firms are currently undertaking development and infrastructure projects in several African countries.
Main Obstacle
Nevertheless, lack of proper knowledge of each other's potentials and capacities remains an obstacle to boosting Iran-Africa economic relations.
"Plans are underway to remove this obstacle … Both sides need to discard their traditional view of each other," he said.
Aqajafari, who was speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony to mark South Africa's Freedom Day (April 27), said Pretoria is among Iran's best partners in the continent.
In 2016, South African President Jacob Zuma visited Iran to strengthen political, trade and investment ties.
Reportedly, the two countries signed eight agreements on cooperation in areas, including trade, industries, investments, agriculture, water resources and oil industry research and development.
South Africa’s Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa had earlier visited Iran to explore opportunities for cooperation in the energy sector with a view to attracting investment into a refinery Pretoria was planning to build.
According to Aqajafari, a trip by President Hassan Rouhani to South Africa and a number of other African countries is on this year's agenda.
