TEHRAN (Tasnim) � Iranian Minister of Industry, Mines, and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh announced that the country welcomes closer cooperation with South Africa in various economic spheres once anti-Tehran sanctions are lifted.

�In the past, the bilateral trade (between Iran and South Africa) was about one billion dollars�, but after foreign sanctions, African companies left Iran,� Chitchian said in a meeting on economic cooperation between Iran and South Africa held in Tehran.

The African country�s Deputy President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa was also present at the meeting.

�We hope that economic and trade cooperation between the two countries would resume in the post-sanctions era,� the Iranian minister said.

�The arrival of South Africa�s largest trade group to Iran indicates its firm determination to re-establish economic ties between the two countries,� Chitchian noted.

Economic activists and representatives of 160 companies from South Africa have come to Iran, he said, adding, �We also welcome joint cooperation with you.�

In a ceremony on Saturday attended by Iranian and South African vice presidents, the two countries signed three Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on economic cooperation.

The documents were signed after a meeting between Iran�s First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri and Ramaphosa in Tehran.

The MoUs include cooperation in capital market, economic interaction and trade.

The African official arrived in Tehran earlier on Saturday for an official visit at the invitation of Jahangiri.

By Tasnim News Agency