TEHRAN, April 23 (Shana) �-Iran�s petroleum minister said he expects the country to sign an energy MoU with South Africa.

Bijan Zangeneh, after a meeting with Tina Joemat-Pettersson, his South African counterpart, expressed hope that the two countries will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU).

�It is expected that the two countries will sign an MoU on Sunday (April 24),� said Zanganeh.

He said that considering the South African president�s visit to Iran, it is expected that the MoU will be signed in a ceremony attended by the presidents of the two countries.

He pointed out that Iran supplied 40 percent of South Africa�s crude oil imports before sanctions and said "During the sanctions these imports were halted and now we are trying to resume the shipments".

�Now the price is the main issue and Iran had said that we only accept the competitive prices of the market,� he added.

He also said that Iran was invited to invest in building a refinery in South Africa and said �We urged them to provide their offer and in turn, invited them to continue their investment in Iran�s refining and petrochemical sectors as before.�

By SHANA