Iranian, South African FMs meet in Pretoria

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his South African counterpart Maite Nkoana-Mashabane held a meeting in Pretoria on Thursday, and discussed ways to further expand relations between the two countries. During the meeting, the two top diplomats pointed to the age-old and deep relations between Tehran and Pretoria, and stressed further promotion of ties. Mashabane is also due to attend Iran-South Africa joint commission meeting which is to be held at the end of his talks with Zarif. The two ministers’ talks will be finalized during another meeting which is to be held later in the evening. They are also slated to outline the achievements of the joint Iran-South Africa commission in a joint press conference. The Iranian top diplomat departed for the South African capital on Wednesday to attend the 11th joint cooperation commission meeting in Pretoria. On Monday, Iran’s Ambassador to South Africa Mohammad Faraji said that holding the commission is important in deepening all-out ties between Tehran and Pretoria, adding that the commission can pave the way for using potentials of both countries. He added that South Africa, as the biggest economic power in the African continent, has close stances with Iran in current issues in the Middle-East, such as Palestine, the Islamic republic news agency reported. The Iranian diplomat said that a wide range of issues are to be discussed in the joint commission meeting. He went on to say that some members of the Iranian delegation arrived in Pretoria on Monday afternoon. The delegation started their talks with South African side from Tuesday within the framework of three political, economic and energy committees. Results of the discussions will be presented on Thursday meeting in the presence of Zarif and his South African counterpart Maite Nkoana-Mashabane. Faraji also said that Zarif is to meet with President Jacob Zuma. The 10th joint commission was held in Tehran in the year 2008.