TEHRAN, Islamic Republic of Iran, September 23, 2023/ — Foreign Minister of Iran Hossein Amirabdollahian met with his South Africa counterpart Naledi Pandor on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting on Thursday in New York.
Amirabdollahian congratulated South Africa on successfully holding the BRICS summit and thanked the country for its very good initiatives on the group of emerging powers, as well as its effective support for Iran’s full membership in BRICS.
He added South Africa “sent an important message for multilateralism in the world and played a decisive role in this field through BRICS.”
The foreign minister pointed out that plans are underway for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s official visit to South Africa and invited his South African counterpart to visit Iran.
Amirabdollahian said, “Relations with South Africa is a very important priority for us, and we have no restrictions on promoting ties with the country.”
During the meeting, the two sides discussed some subjects of mutual interest in the international arena.
For her part, the South African foreign minister said she was glad to once more hold a meeting with her Iranian counterpart, stating, “We have laid a good foundation for bilateral relations and must reinforce the process.”
She also expressed satisfaction with Iran’s membership in BRICS amid requests by many countries to join the bloc and cooperate with it.
She voiced hope that BRICS would be a forward-looking organization for future developments in the world.
During the meeting, the two foreign ministers also discussed some other issues of interest for both countries at the regional and international levels.
