Tehran, Jul 15 (IRNA/APP): The head of the Africa Department at the Trade Promotion Organization (T.P.O.) says Iran’s trade with Africa has seen significant growth this year, with exports and imports both increasing overwhelmingly.
Mohammad-Reza Safari stated on Tuesday that exports to Africa experienced 85 percent growth in the first quarter of the Iranian calendar, compared to the same period last year.
According to him, Iran’s trade balance in 2025, so far, has been 113 percent, with Iranian exports on the African continent increasing from 27 to 32 countries.
The official attributed the growth in Iran’s exports to the Iran-Africa Economic Cooperation Summit, which he said helped implement issues related to trade the approvals of the Africa Headquarters.
Safari also suggested ways to boost bilateral trade, saying that trade strategies, given recent developments, including hike in energy and transportation costs, as well as new U.S. tariffs on exports from Africa, necessitate moving towards exporting high value-added products and investing in offshore production in African countries.
He emphasized that such a strategy have been pursued by China in Africa for many years.
Bilateral trade between Iran and African nations is currently standing at around $1.3 billion, which both side intend to increase to $3-5 billion by 2025.