President Raeisi welcomed in Kenya on first leg of African tour

Iran’s President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi has arrived in Kenya on the first leg of his three-nation tour of Africa aimed at expanding ties and signing multiple economic and cooperation agreements.

According to Press TV, the president was greeted at the Nairobi airport Wednesday morning by Kenya's Foreign Secretary Alfred Mutua and later received an official welcome from his Kenyan counterpart, William Ruto, at the presidential palace.

A 21-gun salute was performed in honor of the Iranian president and his accompanying delegation.

President Raeisi is expected to hold a closed-door meeting with Ruto, followed by a series of meetings and talks held between Iranian and Kenyan delegations before signing multiple agreements on bilateral trade and cooperation.

The president’s three-day trip to Africa will also take him to Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Before his departure, the Iranian chief executive expressed hope that good steps would be taken during the trip in various political, economic, commercial, scientific, technological and cultural fields.

“Contacts with African countries are today among the priorities of our foreign policy. The neighborliness policy and relations with Muslim and allied countries are among the issues of concern to the government,” he added.

ME