Iran has plans to buy shares in some major African banks and apply for membership in the African Development Bank, an Iranian trade official announced.
Head of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran Valiollah Afkhami Rad described the plan as part of efforts to reduce the risk of investment in African countries.
He also unveiled plans for establishing joint funds and commercial chambers and councils with African states as well as an increase in the number of Iranian commercial attachés in Africa in order to broaden economic ties with the continent.
Iran is going to dispatch 4 new commercial attachés to Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt and Tanzania and seeks to establish shipping and air routes to African destinations to boost trade, Afkhami Rad added.
Expansion of relations with the African nations in all political, economic and cultural fields is top on the agenda of Iran’s foreign policy.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who took office in August 2013, has repeatedly stressed his government's interest in boosting relations with the African states.