Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi was on Wednesday recieved by his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto on Wednesday as he began a three-country tour of Africa.
Raisi’s trip to Africa, which will also take him to Uganda and Zimbabwe, is the first by an Iranian president in more than a decade after a 2013 trip by the country former leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The trip is bid at diversifying the Iranian economic ties in the face of crippling US sanctions.
Kenya’s President Ruto said he held bilateral talks with President Ebrahim Raisi where “Iran agreed to boost Kenya’s pursuits in manufacturing, health and the blue economy through research and technology”.
Kenya is keen on boosting its trade volumes with Iran and that Ruto said his administration was “working closely with Tehran to facilitate the export of more tea, meat and other agricultural products to Iran, which will also act as a key entry point to Central Asian countries.”
Raisi is expected to next fly to Uganda to discuss trade and bilateral relations with President Yoweri Museveni, and then to Zimbabwe.
