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Thursday, April 25, 2024 13:14 GMT
Iran has dedicated 200 million euros as guarantees and bonuses to support exports to Africa, the country's Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) announced. Farzad Piltan, the head of TPO’s Arab and African office, said that Iran’s exports to Africa declined by a fourth in the 11 months to February 18 compared to the similar period over 2019-2020 to stand at US$478 million, while imports were stable at nearly US$90 million over the same period.He said the decline was mainly due to restrictions imposed on trade because of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, adding that Africa’s total imports from other parts of the world had dropped by over 80% to around US$100 billion year on year in late 2020. The official said that Iran could have easily met a target of US$700 million in exports to African countries in the calendar year to March this year if the pandemic had not caused closures at borders and trade gateways.Ghana was the top customer of Iranian goods in the 11 months to late February as the West African country took delivery of US$142 million worth of shipments from Iran. Algeria came second at US$109 million followed by Kenya at US$41 million, according to TPO figures.Piltan said Iran has prepared a three-year plan to reach a target of US$1.1 billion in exports to Africa, saying exports over 2021-2022 should increase by nearly a half to reach US$700 million. The Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979 resulted in a fundamental overhaul of Iranian foreign policy, changing its focus from the West to the developing world.The former government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad promoted the notion of an Iranian “South-South” strategy, aiming to expand relations with Africa and Latin America. Tehran has prioritized promotion of its economic and political ties with the African states and the country is now considered as one of the African Union's strategic partners. Tehran's efforts to boost ties and cooperation with Africa have led to its acceptance as an observing member of the African Union, where it has shown an active presence in the AU summit meetings. - Fars