Zim, Iran relations on firm ground

Mukudzei Chingwere

Herald Reporter

The roadmap for Zimbabwe and Iran ties stands on firm ground, having been laid out years back and continued to be cultivated through economic synergies, hence the death of former Iran President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian will not affect the collaboration.

This was said by Zimbabwean Ambassador to Iran, Bright Kupemba, in an interview with the Iranian media recently in Tehran.

The assurance by Ambassador Kupemba also follows his counterpart, Iran’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Abbas Navazani’s recent remarks that the envisaged boom in economic cooperation between the two will not be affected by the passing of President Raisi in a helicopter crash.

The two countries signed 12 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in different sectors when President Mnangagwa met with his then counterpart President Raisi who came to Zimbabwe for a State visit last year.

“Our relations with Iran are deep and systematic,” said Ambassador Kupemba speaking to the Iranian media. 

“Our current President, President Mnangagwa, visited Iran shortly after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and was received by the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Khomeini.

“The roadmap for our ties was designed years ago and we have kept in touch in various ways over the last decades.

“So, I don’t think relations between Iran and Zimbabwe are going to take a significant hit because there is a firm nucleus to our relations.

“But I would say that Dr Amir Abdollahian had a very big emphasis on ties with African nations and multi-polarity. During his tenure, our ties began to have more strategic, knowledge-based and tech-based exchanges. We also saw an increase in economic trade.

“I don’t know who is going to replace him, but whoever he or she is, might not have the same deep knowledge of Africa.

“Nevertheless, I think ties between the two nations will continue unabated because they are systematic, fixated and rooted in history,” said Ambassador Kupemba.

He said, in Zimbabwe, President Raisi’s death was received with shock and extreme sadness after the two countries had grown strong ties in the past three years.

Ambassador Kupemba reminisced that the late Foreign Minister Abdollahian used to be a deputy minister for Africa and the Middle East from 2011 to 2016.

“I believe during this time he (Dr Abdollahian) grew an affinity with Africa,” said Ambassador Kupemba. 

“He deeply wanted to understand Africa’s history, culture, and political landscape. That’s why he ended up feeling the need to forge close relations with African nations.

“He took it upon himself to make sure that relations were taken to a new level. I believe he did ultimately gain a deep understanding and knowledge of Africa, and what he pursued in his diplomatic endeavours was eventually based on mutual benefit and respect,” said Ambassador Kupemba.

He said Dr Abdollahian also believed in multi-polarisim in world affairs, which might be the reason he  strengthened and expanded ties with African states as he saw a future in a multipolar world.