From the time the world discovered Africa down to the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and colonial period and then to the independence of African countries, the continent of Africa has always been important to the world mainly because of its resources. But before now, the only people who could be regarded as partners with Africa even though the partnership was kike that of a master and a slave were Western and European countries. They were deeply entrenched in every aspect of Africa from the military, economy, and politics of the continent. In essence, the West, including France, the UK, and the US, controlled everything in Africa. If they say Africa needed to be punished, then Africa would be punished and if they say Africa needs to be rewarded, then that’s what happens. Although other non-Western countries such as the now defunct Soviet Union had a relationship with Africa, it cannot be compared with that of the West who were the lords. However, things are beginning to change as more non-western countries are beginning to seek partnerships with Africa from China, Russia, Turkey, and now Iran. All these countries have one thing in common which is that they are trying to break free from the power and hold the West seems to have over everyone.
For Iran, one of the reasons why the country is seeking a partnership with Africa is to expand trade relations with East Africa and potentially circumvent U.S.-led sanctions. The President of the country, President Ibrahim Raisi visited three countries in East Africa in mid-July this year. The trip was touted by the Iranian media as launching a new beginning in relations with Africa. This visit by President Raisi was the first since the 2013 visit by the former President of Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Since the beginning of his presidency, Raisi has prioritized resetting relations with Africa which his predecessor, Hassan Rouhani, had previously not placed as a priority because he was focused on nuclear negotiations with the United States and other world powers. So, while other Iranian wealthy rivals such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE had formed ties with Africa, Iran was left out.
It was against this backdrop that Raisi sought to salvage relations as well as diminish Iran’s growing isolation since the U.S. withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions against Iran in 2018. In addition to the sanctions imposed in 2018, Iran faced a lot of economic pressure at the hands of the United States and its allies in Europe, particularly over its material support for Russia’s war against Ukraine. For instance, in late June, Iran suffered a major setback when the European Union announced it would retain its sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile programs, which was supposed to expire in October 2023 in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which accompanied the 2015 multilateral Iran nuclear deal. The EU decision was based on: one, Russia’s use of Iranian drones against Ukraine; two, the possibility that Iran might transfer ballistic missiles to Russia; and three, Iran’s nuclear escalations, which would have violated the terms of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement had it not been scrapped by the United States in 2018, including enriching uranium to levels approaching the 90% purity required to qualify as “weapons grade.”
Although the visit was characterized by Iranian officials as primarily to boost trade and commercial ties in East Africa, President Raisi, on his part, indicated that his objectives were to build new alliances with which to exert leverage against the growing economic and diplomatic pressure on Iran from the United States and Europe. Members and institutions of all three governments, particularly Zimbabwe, have been targeted by U.S. sanctions for alleged human rights abuses, corruption, and election-related violence. While Kenya has not been subject to such sanctioning in some time, Ugandan officials were recently sanctioned over the country’s anti-homosexuality legislation. Resentment over U.S. sanctions resonates strongly in Iran, as well as in the countries visited by Raisi. So, the visit by the Iranian president shows a kind of solidarity.
The Sanctions placed on Iran and the three African countries he visited is only one aspect on which they related. These countries also formed a bond based on the Russia-Ukraine war. While Iran is materially supporting Russia, both Uganda and Zimbabwe abstained from the key UN General Assembly vote in March 2022 to condemn the Russian invasion. Although Kenya’s President, William Ruto sided with NATO leaders, he warmly received Raisi on his arrival to his country and recently characterized “tensions between North and South” as similar to the deteriorating relations between the West and China.
During his stop in Uganda, Raisi pointed out another issue on which both countries aligned, which was that Kampala, Uganda’s capital, aligned with Tehran’s views on social issues. Raising called Western nations’ support for homosexuality one of the “dirtiest” episodes of human history and publicly supported Uganda’s recently passed legislation prescribing the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality, a legislation that attracted widespread Western condemnation. After meeting with Museveni, Raisi stated: “I believe that this issue, and these strong attacks by the West against the establishment of families and against the culture of the nations, is another area of cooperation for Iran and Uganda.”
Beyond building new partnerships, Iranian leaders and their East African counterparts also sought practical outcomes from the visit. First and foremost, as was evident in Raisi’s June trip to three Latin American countries with whom the United States has strained or hostile relations (Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua), Raisi and the Iranian businessmen in his delegation sought to forge economic ties that would help Tehran undermine the effects of Western sanctions. In advance of the trip, Iran’s foreign ministry publicly forecast that trade with all African countries will increase to more than $2 billion in 2023. Raisi also specifically mentioned Africa’s mineral resources and Iran’s petrochemical experience as potential bases for expanded economic cooperation.
Africa’s diverse economic needs provide the Raisi administration with a significant opportunity to expand Iran’s exports to the continent. In July 2022, Iranian Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian announced that during a 10-month period, 47 official delegations from Africa had visited Iran to boost economic cooperation. Over the past two years, the foreign minister, his deputy for economic diplomacy, and his political deputy have all made visits to various African countries, such as Mali, Tanzania, South Africa, and Niger, attempting to expand political and economic ties. Additionally, in March 2023, the inaugural Economic Cooperation Summit between Iran and West African countries took place. During the event, President Raisi emphasized Iran’s willingness and commitment to substantially expand cooperation with African countries across various sectors.
The visit, together with previous attempts, resulted in some modest, if hazy, trade and economic accords with East African countries. Kenya, the economic heart of East Africa, was the focal point of Raisi’s journey. According to Kenyan President William Ruto, Iran aims to establish a vehicle manufacturing plant in Mombasa, Kenya’s port city. During Raisi’s visit, Iranian and Kenyan ministers signed five memorandums of agreement on information technology, fisheries, animal products, and investment development. Ruto added that he also wanted Raisi’s commitment to facilitate the export of more Kenyan tea, meat, and other agricultural products to Iran and, via Iran, to Central Asian countries.
Over the last decade, Iran and Uganda have considered different sorts of energy cooperation, including the development of Uganda’s nuclear programme. Uganda is attempting to build a nuclear power plant, which officials claim would provide electricity by 2031. Following the Raisi visit, President Museveni stated that Uganda would approach Iran for assistance in developing its energy sector, particularly its oil and nuclear programmes, through knowledge transfer or project funding. Raisi may have also received assistance from Uganda in order to avoid US-led sanctions: in 2022, Museveni recommended that the two countries engage in barter trade in order to avoid US sanctions on Iran.
Setting the groundwork for the Zimbabwe leg of the trip, in early 2023, a Zimbabwean ministerial delegation visited Tehran to deepen cooperation in areas including energy trade. At Raisi’s visit, the president of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa greeted Raisi as “my brother” on the tarmac after he got off the plane. “When you see him, you see me. When you see me, you see him,” Mnangagwa told a crowd of people waving Zimbabwean and Iranian flags who had gathered around the two heads of state. “When we went to war, Iran was our friend,” said Mnangagwa, referring to Zimbabwe’s fight against Britain for independence, which it attained in 1980. “I am happy you have come to show solidarity.” The meeting between both countries ended with them signing 12 agreements, including establishing a tractor manufacturing plant in Zimbabwe with an Iranian company and a local partner. Other agreements expand cooperation in energy, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications, as well as research, science, and technology projects.
Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Uganda are not however the only African countries that Iran has signed deals with. In October, the Foreign Minister of Burkina Faso, Olivia Rouamba, signed 8 new partnership agreements with Sayed Solat Mortazavi, the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare of Iran. This was during the first session of the joint cooperation commission between the two countries held last October 2 to 5 in Ouagadougou. The agreement, according to an official statement released by the Burkina Faso Government Information Service (SIG), are aimed at the energy and mining sectors, the pharmaceutical industry, vocational training, employment, and entrepreneurship development, as well as defence and security. Ms. Rouamba stated that all parties, along with sector experts, have committed to continuing to work towards win-win accords, while Sayed Solat Mortazavi underlined his country’s commitment to assisting Burkina Faso in addressing instability. This Agreement between Iran and Burkina Faso came after the President of Iran met with the Foreign Minister of Burkina Faso to discuss economic cooperation earlier in September.
While trade between Iran and Africa cannot hey be compared to that of Africa and other countries, there has been some significant progress, with Iranian exports to Africa reaching $1.28 billion last year, up from $579 million in 2020. The growth in some targeted areas has been even greater, with Iran’s exports of technical and engineering services to Africa increasing by 700% in 2022. And, according to the Iranian media reports, the Islamic Republic aims to achieve a tenfold increase in trade with African countries, reaching $12 billion, with the initial target set at $5 billion in two years.
The visit by Iran and Africa’s acceptance of the visit shows that no longer would the West be the sole partner of the continent. They are indeed losing ground as more countries want to partner with Africa. This means more choices for Africa to decide on. The West can no longer afford to continue with the imperialistic way they have related with Africa because they are no longer the only ones in the game. With this choice of partners, Africa can now enjoy the benefit from trade, military, and technology that come with partnering with different countries which have been denied for a long time by the West. Africa is indeed rising.
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