Ebrahim Raisi, the president of Iran, began a three-day visit to Africa on Wednesday when he landed in Nairobi, Kenya.
A day later than anticipated, Raisi was greeted by Kenyan President William Ruto at the presidential palace.
The Iranian president is making his first trip to Europe in 11 years as Tehran looks to forge new foreign alliances in an effort to lessen its diplomatic isolation.
In Zimbabwe and Uganda, where he will see his rivals Yoweri Museveni and Emmerson Mnangagwa, Raisi will continue his visit.
Diplomatic battlefront
Africa is the centre of an increasingly tense diplomatic battlefront in recent months, with the West and Russia both attempting to win African countries over to their side as the war in Ukraine grinds on.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine heavily impacted the African continent with sharp price increases, especially of food.
Iran’s visit is a “starting point” for new economic and trade ties between Tehran and African countries, according to the spokesperson for the country’s Foreign Affairs minister, Nasser Kanani.
The spokesperson also added on Monday that Iran and the three African countries visited this week have “common political views”.
New ties
Iran has reinforced its ties with China and Russia as relations with Western states remain tense.
Last week, Iran joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a regional body created in 2001 with China and Russia founding members.
After a visit to Indonesia in May, Raisi toured three “friendly countries” in Latin America in June – Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba – where he denounced “imperial powers”, notably the United States.
