The Iranian Minister of Agriculture, Gholamreza Nouri Ghezaljeh, addressed the First National Council on Agricultural Cooperation between Iran and Africa. He emphasized that there are opportunities for joint agricultural interaction with African countries, which must be transformed into tangible, practical, and long-term economic ties.
The event gathered over two hundred economic participants, including ambassadors, economic advisors, honorary consuls, representatives of executive bodies, economic associations, entrepreneurs, and investors. The Minister noted that such broad participation provided a valuable chance to translate the political will to expand relations between Iran and Africa into concrete projects and sustainable economic partnerships.
Nouri Ghezaljeh thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Secretariat of the Iran-Africa Cooperation Summit, and the Ministry of Agriculture for organizing the event. He stated that Iran's approach to international cooperation is based on mutual respect, rejection of unilateral actions, countering aggression and political pressure, and recognizing the right of all nations to peace, development, and sustainable access to food. He stressed that food security requires trust, cooperation, and constructive interaction between states, and this must become the fundamental principle for developing agrarian ties between Iran and African countries.
The Minister delivered a clear message: Iran-Africa agricultural cooperation must move from merely presenting possibilities to defining specific projects; from memorandums of understanding to executive contracts; and from sporadic exchanges to sustainable partnership in production, technology, and trade. He clarified that Iran views Africa not just as a market or a source of necessary goods, but as an important partner for investment, joint production, and creating mutual economic benefit.
Ghezaljeh linked agriculture to food security, knowledge, and economic development. In his view, food security is not only about increasing production volumes but also about ensuring people have constant access to sufficient, healthy, high-quality, and affordable nutrition. He described water, soil, seeds, and resources, production knowledge and technology, storage, transportation, and trade as interconnected links in a single chain, warning that weakening any link could undermine production increase efforts. Furthermore, he pointed out complementary opportunities between Iran and African countries. Iran has strengths in water resource management and irrigation, greenhouse production, agricultural machinery, livestock and poultry breeding, vaccines and veterinary products, fisheries, processing industry, and specialized training. African countries, given their climatic and economic conditions, have significant potential in crop production, tropical products, animal husbandry, fisheries, and market expansion. Combining these capabilities can boost productivity, create jobs, and increase added value on both sides.
The Minister also named eliminating administrative obstacles and strengthening communication between responsible institutions as the fourth priority. He stated that economic actors require clear procedures, reliable logistics, practical payment mechanisms, insurance, and investment coverage, as well as predictable regulation to enter into sustainable cooperation. Regarding tariffs and trade facilitation, he called for exploring possibilities for bilateral agreements and regional mechanisms involving relevant bodies. He also emphasized the need for continuous monitoring: problems in each project must be clearly identified and documented, a responsible structure must be assigned, and progress must be evaluated within set timelines.
Nouri Ghezaljeh stressed that the government should act as a facilitator, while the private sector should be the driving force of economic cooperation. According to him, embassies and economic advisors can effectively help in identifying credible opportunities, presenting reliable partners, clarifying market rules, facilitating communication between businesses, and overseeing the removal of administrative barriers. In contrast, the private sector must play a central role in defining projects and their commercial and operational assessment. Within the Ministry of Agriculture, the International Affairs Department, together with specialized organizations, deputies, and private sector associations, is responsible for the secretariat of six Iran-Africa joint commissions and more than ten joint agricultural committees with African countries. The goal is not to create new and numerous mechanisms, but to effectively utilize existing opportunities, clarify responsibilities, and prevent negotiations from dragging on at the stage of administrative correspondence.
The Minister asked economic participants to present proposals in the form of concrete and actionable plans. He added that each plan must clearly define the subject of cooperation, the proposed partner, the target market, the required capital, legal requirements, schedule, and evaluation indicators. He strongly urged avoiding scattered programs and suggested starting with a few limited, well-thought-out, and implementable projects instead of a long list of aspirations. A clear point of contact, schedule, and follow-up monitoring mechanism should be assigned for each project on both sides so that successful cooperation can be expanded after evaluating initial results.
Nouri Ghezaljeh announced that the Fourth Iran-Africa Cooperation Summit will take place next month, and the FIDC event will be held in Senegal. He expressed hope for active participation of the Iranian private sector and agricultural economic actors in these programs. He stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran strives for cooperation based on trust, respect, and mutual interests. In agriculture, these principles should lead to more sustainable production, more balanced trade, more jobs, knowledge transfer, and more reliable access for people to healthy and adequate food. He emphasized that success should be measured not by the number of meetings or signed documents, but by implemented contracts, result-generating projects, created added value, and benefits that ultimately reach producers and the population. He concluded that the council should be a starting point for practical cooperation—a stage where knowledge turns into production, production enters markets, and friendly relations become long-term economic ties.
Regarding political and defense events, the Minister noted that when Iran was attacked by Israel and the United States, some foreign observers welcomed it, while others expected further escalation. Instead, he said, Iran's resistance, the country's resilience, the people's courage, and the continuity of public services were demonstrated. Addressing the ambassadors, he reported that despite the military conditions, public services in various areas, including food security and essential supplies, continued, and necessary goods were supplied in abundance, so military conditions were not felt in meeting basic needs. He criticized US actions on the international stage, stating that peace has been severely affected by American military intervention, and that the energy and food sectors face serious challenges and crises. According to official statistics in some countries, food prices have risen by up to 23 percent, and the poor and vulnerable groups are suffering the most. He noted that Iran and other countries have suffered from these consequences and expressed hope that the United States will choose a rational path and return to the Islamabad Memorandum to accelerate the end of the war, given the pressure on economies, nutrition, and global food security, especially in poor countries.
Finally, Nouri Ghezaljeh urged participants to actively engage in the specialized panels held parallel to the council, as they can transition cooperation from speeches and negotiations to the operational stage. He expressed hope that with the support of ambassadors, the efforts of economic actors, the assistance of responsible institutions, and the equal participation of African countries, the ground will be prepared for sustainable agricultural cooperation. Expected outcomes include enhanced food security, economic prosperity, development of common opportunities, and strengthening long-term friendship between the Iranian people and African countries.
