HARARE – Iran’s President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi arrives in Zimbabwe this Thursday on a one-day state visit which is part of a three-nation African tour aimed at widening trade ties the African countries.

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Kivit Mugejo said in a statement on Wednesday that the Iranian leader will hold bilateral talks with President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade wishes to advise that the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, His Excellency (HE) Dr. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, is scheduled to take a One-Day State Visit to the Republic of Zimbabwe on 13 July 2023.

“During the State Visit, HE Dr. Raisi is scheduled to hold bilateral discussions with his counterpart and President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, HE Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa.

“During the visit, several MOU’s are expected to be signed as the two nations deepen their ties.

According to Reuters, the Iranian leader touched down in Kenya where he received a red carpet welcome from Kenyan President William Ruto as he began a three-country tour of Africa that Tehran has touted as a “new beginning” in relations with the continent.

Raisi’s trip to Africa is the first by an Iranian president in more than a decade, and represents a bid to diversify economic ties in the face of crippling US sanctions.

Iran stepped up its diplomatic outreach to developing world countries after then-US President Donald Trump ditched a nuclear pact in 2018 and reimposed sanctions.

In June, Raisi visited three Latin American countries to shore up support with allies also saddled with U.S. sanctions.

Iran’s trade with African countries will increase to more than $2 billion this year, its foreign ministry said on Saturday, without providing a comparative figure for 2022.

Raisi was welcomed by an honour guard at Kenya’s presidential palace before joining Ruto for a meeting, video posted on social media by Kenya’s presidency showed.

His trip to Kenya, East Africa’s economic powerhouse, will provide the two countries an “opportunity to review and re-energise their bilateral relations for the mutual benefit of the people of the two countries,” Kenya’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

Raisi is expected to next fly to Uganda to discuss trade and bilateral relations with President Yoweri Museveni, and then to Zimbabwe.

The last Iranian leader to visit Africa was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2013.