South Africa to give new impetus to relations with Iran

South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Mait Nkoana-Mashabane will visit Iran early next month to demonstrate South Africa's desire to give new impetus to their relations, a senior official said on Thursday. Nkoana-Mashabane will attend the inauguration of Hassan Rouhani as Iran's new president on Aug. 4, according to Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ebrahim Ebrahim. South Africa maintains a friendly relationship with Iran, even though the international sanctions imposed against Iran have made trade increasingly difficult, Ebrahim told a press briefing in Pretoria. One of the effects of these sanctions was that South Africa had to end its oil imports from Iran in June 2012. Ebrahim said President Jacob Zuma had requested Rouhani to give priority to resolving all outstanding issues with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as far as Iran's nuclear programme was concerned. "Doing so would not only allow Iran to reclaim its rightful place in the international community, but it would also result in the lifting of international sanctions, which have caused immense hardships to the Iranian people," Ebrahim said. Nkoana-Mashabane is expected to reiterate these messages in her engagements with the Iranian authorities, Ebrahim said. He said South Africa will host the 11th Meeting of the South African-Iran Joint Commission in October. The commission is one of the longest running structured bilateral mechanisms that South Africa has with any country.