Deputy President Ramaphosa concludes successful visit to Iran

Tehran - Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa concluded a successful three-day working visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran on Monday, 9 November 2015 where he led a high level government and trade delegation to consolidate bilateral political, economic and trade relations   between the two countries.

Deputy President Ramaphosa’s visit took place following the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Programme of Action between Iran and the so- called P5+1 countries. This programme is expected to result in the withdrawal of sanctions imposed on Iran.

The visit  by Deputy President Ramaphosa was preceded by a number of bilateral meetings at a ministerial level focusing on consolidating relations, collaboration in energy, agriculture, tourism, trade and water resource management.

During the visit, Deputy President Ramaphosa  and his counterpart, First Vice-President Es’haq Jahangiri witnessed the signing of three agreements, namely:

· Memorandum of Understanding between MINTEK (South Africa), IMIDRO and Iran IMIDRO and Iran Mineral Processing Research Centre (IMPRC) focusing on mineral processing;

· Memorandum of Understanding between Financial Intelligence Centre of South Africa and Financial Intelligence Unit of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Information Exchange Concerning Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing; and

· Memorandum of Understanding between Financial Services Board of South Africa and Securities and Exchange Organisation of Iran in Relation to Assistance and Mutual Co-operation in the Capital Markets Sector.  

Deputy President Ramaphosa also presided over the launch of the SA-Iran Business Council,  wherein he noted the success of companies doing business in Iran and the enormous capacity developed by the Iranians in areas such as petrochemicals, oil and gas, agriculture and on developing sources of energy such as wind and gas.  

While in Iran Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa had an opportunity to pay courtesy visits to President Hassan Rouhani and the Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani. The Deputy President expressed South Africa’s gratitude to the Iranian government for the stances it has taken on various regional cooperation issues and ongoing support for transformation of the United Nations Security Council.

The Deputy President was supported by Minister Nomvula Mokonyane of Water and Sanitation, Deputy Ministers Nomaindia Mfeketo of International Relations and Cooperation, Godfrey Oliphant of Mineral Resources, Mcebisi Jonas of Finance, Bheki Cele of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and and Tokozile Xasa of Tourism and senior government officials.

Representatives of state-owned companies such as Eskom, Mintek, the Council for Geoscience, the Financial Intelligence Centre and the South African Revenue Service and over 80 business leaders formed part of the visit in support of the Deputy President.

Issued by Ronnie Mamoepa - 082-990-4853

The Presidency