Iran invites Meles

* Iran to open Embassies in three Horn of African countries 


By De Birhan Media and Agencies 
29-1-2012

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, who is in the Ethiopian capital attending the African Union summit, invited Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to Tehran to attend the the 6th Iran-Ethiopia joint economic commission meeting which Iran is hosting. 

The Minister also stated Tehran's preparedness to provide African nations, Ethiopia in particular, with necessary assistance for development. Salehi highlighted Tehran's principal policy of promoting relations with the African nations in areas of public interactions as well as economic, industrial and agricultural cooperation. Ethiopia's Hailemariam Desalegn, for his part, lauded the two countries' cooperation as positive, and stressed the importance of preparing the necessary capacities for the two countries' relations.  President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration has striven hard to maximize Iran's relations with the African continent. Earlier this week, Iran said it plans to set up new embassies in a number of African and Asian states.   In its meeting here in Tehran on Wednesday, the Iranian cabinet approved a Foreign Ministry's proposal for opening embassies in Somalia, Cameron, South Sudan, Djibouti and the South-east Asian state of Myanmar.  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 (AU), where it has shown an active presence in the AU summit meetings.  In a recent research paper that De Birhan Media did, it found  Iran progressively and aggressively mounting its strategic presence in the Horn of Africa. Similarly, most Horn countries and particularly Ethiopia  has been criticised for forming a poly/multi strategic alliance with most strategically interested powers at the same time.