Iran\'s First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri felicitated Oumar Tatam on his appointment as the new Malian Prime Minister. Jahangiri, in his congratulatory message, hoped Bamako would witness peace and tranquility during the tenure of the new premier, and called for success and prosperity of the government and people of Mali. Jahangiri further underlined the need to boost all-out ties between the two nations. Late in September, Iran\'s President Hassan Rouhani felicitated Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on National Day (September 22). In a congratulatory message to the Malian president, government, and nation, Rouhani expressed the hope that the ties between the two friendly nations would witness further expansion in all fields. In the recent years, Iran has accelerated efforts to expansion relations with the African states in all fields. Iran is an observing member of the African Union (AU) and has shown an active presence in previous AU summit meetings. The country is considered as one of the AU\'s strategic partners along with India, Japan, China, several South American states and Turkey, while Tehran is also believed to be prioritizing promotion of its economic and political ties with the African states.