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President Mugabe

From Mabasa Sasa in Tehran, Iran
PRESIDENT Mugabe yesterday morning landed at Tehran International Airport ahead of an inauguration ceremony for his Iranian colleague, President Hassan Rouhani.

Zimbabwe’s Head of State and Government was received in Tehran by Iran’s Minister of Co-operatives, Labour and Social Welfare Mr Ali Rabiei, and Harare’s chief envoy to the Middle Eastern country, Ambassador Nicholas Kitikiti.

In President Mugabe’s delegation are Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, Secretary for Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Mr George Charamba and senior Government officials.

A guard mounted by the different branches of Iran’s uniformed forces saluted President Mugabe on his arrival in Tehran.

President Rouhani’s second term inauguration – after he first came to power in 2013 – could be the biggest Iran has ever seen, with world leaders and representatives of more than 100 countries expected to be in attendance. The day of the ceremony has been declared a national holiday.

The huge turnout is being played up as a big message to the United States, which is trying to turn world opinion against Iran.

The US has long opposed Iran’s civil nuclear development programme, claiming that it has aggressive, military overtones.

In July 2015, Iran and the P5+1 of Russia, China the US, Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany inked the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to ease tensions but new American president, Mr Donald Trump, has been opposed to the Middle Eastern country developing any nuclear capabilities.

The US has maintained economic sanctions on Iran, grouping it along with Zimbabwe and North Korea as an outpost of tyranny.

Zimbabwe – which is similarly sanctioned by the US – and Iran have enjoyed cordial political relations for more than 30 years now, and the two countries have lately been exploring ways of translating this into deeper economic ties.
The late Vice-President and national hero, Dr Simon Muzenda, set the ball rolling in 1979 when he visited Tehran soon after the Iranian revolution and Zimbabwe established an embassy in that country in 2003.
Since that first contact on the eve of Zimbabwe’s Independence, four Iranian leaders have visited Zimbabwe and President Mugabe has reciprocated an equal number of times.
The countries have been trying to grow co-operation in areas such as agri-related technologies, textiles, SMEs and ICTs.
Recently, Iran’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Ahmad Erfanian, underscored the need to raise the volume of bilateral trade to overcome the illegal Western sanctions.
Co-operation is largely guided by the Zimbabwe-Iran Joint Commission, and has also included availing of scholarships for Zimbabweans to study in Iran.