In the Name of God

Iran is a country situated in the heart of the Middle East bridging the two important regions of the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea. With a population of 67 million, it is the most populous country in the region and 16th in the world. Although Iran is located in a relatively arid area of the world, it enjoys a climate diversity that has endowed the different parts of the country with four seasons simultaneously.

The Iranian plateau is one of the oldest centers of ancient civilization in Asia. The date of the beginning of human settlement in this plateau is not clear but there are tangible evidences that it was inhabited since ancient times. In fact the migration of Aryan tribes from around the Ural Sea to the Iranian plateau started in the second millennium before Christ.

The first ever great empire of Iran was established by the Achaemenid dynasty in 230 B.C. After the Achaemenids, different monarchical rules by other dynasties and tribes came in succession in Iran. The most prominent being the Sulukis, Sasanids, Ghaz Navid, Al Boyeh, Safavids, Samanids, Saljukids, Mozafarids, Afsharids, Ghajar and the last one, the Pahlavi.

In February 1979, the Pahlavi regime was overthrown by a popular revolution led by the late Ayatollah Khomeini and thus, the 2500 years old monarchic system in Iran came to an end. This was followed by the establishment of the Islamic Republic with a 99.8% vote of the Iranian people.

The Islamic Republic of Iran in the 25 years of its establishment, has passed through many ups and downs and has achieved a lot of significant and valuable successes. To mention just a few, the prevalence of stabilization vis-à-vis internal and foreign threats, the achievement of glorious victory in the 8 years imposed war of Iraq against the Iranian nation, the reconstruction of war torn areas brought about by the imposed war, the enhancement of the system, upgrading the regional and international situation of Iran as an influential country in development at regional and international level. All these developments have pivotal effects and impacts on the promotion and progress of the Islamic Society of our country.

Endeavoring to find new answers to new questions has always been the characteristic of the Iranian society. Today, freedom, independence and anti-colonialism, as our three principal slogans, are chores to our national accord. Furthermore, the inclination of the Iranian society towards the expansion of the rule of law, legitimate freedom, dialogue, cultural pluralism, justice, tolerance, active participation and the promotion of civil society institutions, are indicative of the determination of the society for necessary changes based on its needs, and when required.

In the last 25 years, the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has always placed issues such a reform, promotion of the welfare of the people and the construction of the country, at the top of its priorities. The recent political and social changes in Iran have been dully reflected in the foreign policy of the country. New chapters have been opened in our foreign policy, based on the principles of détente, dialogue and reciprocal cooperation.

We are pleased to see that recent changes in our foreign policy bring about the promotion of understanding, peace and cooperation at regional and international levels. At the turn of the 21st century, the idea of Dialogue Among Civilizations, championed by President Khatami and embraced by all people around the world, is a clear manifestation of Iran’s new approach to international politics. As a result of such policies, expansion of relations between Iran and neighboring countries as well as the European Union, Asia and Africa became apparent in recently years.

The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to pursue its development policies. This is already envisaged in a nation wide strategy designed for the coming 20 years. The strategy is called the “20 Years Vision for the Development of the Country” to be implemented in four segments of 5 years development plans. As a result of such a vision, in the year 2025, Iran will become a developed country with a significant economic, scientific and technical power. It will play a big role in the region, taking into account the Islamic and revolutionary behavior as its pivotal policy, being an influential and effective country in the Islamic world, and having a mutually beneficial and constructive interaction with other countries in international relations.

In a word, Iran has already established a suitable political and economic environment as well as all necessary preconditions for the development and progress of the country, thus transforming itself into a center for regional and international cooperation. It has become a gateway opening access to the great markets of the Central Asia and the Caucasus with a population of 350 million and the important markets available in Africa. Iran, has thus, stretched its hands for cooperation and partnership with all friendly and interested countries in Asia, Europe and Africa.

Throughout its history, Africa had for a long time been a scene for the over road and in road of colonial powers and rivalries among powerful countries. This has created a lot of suffering and oppression on its people. Iran, however, for political, historical, cultural, and economic reasons, has established a constructive interaction and cooperation with Africa placing the issue as a priority in its foreign policy. Although there could be different dimensions and aspects to formulate the African policy of Iran, in view of the present need of Africa and the economic nature of international relations with Africa, every aspect of Iranian policy is undoubtedly influenced by the economic aspects of Iran-Africa relations.

In fact because of the current recession which the world economy has faced after September 11, Africa which enjoys a higher growth rate, has become a suitable ground to establish a mutual and beneficial relation with Iran. This is because of the capacities and diversities available in the continent in the economic field, its needs for attracting investment, its needs for consultancy and engineering services, its needs for consumer products and the fact that almost all the requirements of the African market could be met in a comparative advantage basis by Iranian products and capabilities. So there exists an economic complementarity between Iran and Africa by which African countries could establish good economic relations, with the former.

Among African countries, Ethiopia is an ancient country with great civilization which had a great impact and played a major role in establishing the African-Islamic culture and civilization. It is a country which has always enjoyed an independent identity and deep rooted civilization in history. Ethiopia is also important from a geo-strategic point of view. It is a country that enjoys a relative political stability as compared to other countries in the region. It also enjoys an important and special situation among the countries in the region.

Ethiopia is a seat for the headquarters of the African Union and the Economic Commission for Africa. It hosts a number of important international and regional meetings in its capital Addis Ababa. This has placed Ethiopia at the heart of the attention of the international community making it eligible to be one of the major recipient of development assistance. As a result of the establishment of new regional initiatives such as NePAD and the transformation of the OAU to AU, Addis Ababa has become an important center for regional and international considerations. Currently, more than 100 embassies and political representations of other countries as well as national and regional offices of more than 25 international organizations are active in Addis Ababa.

Iran and Ethiopia, based on various political, historical, cultural and economic reasons, have established proper relations that have expanded and promoted in recent years. Three rounds of meetings of the Joint Economic Commissions of the two countries have been held in Tehran and Addis Ababa in the last few years, which have resulted in the signings of important agreements and MOUs. On the other hand, the private sectors of the two countries have also agreed to promote their relations and establish joint ventures and investments.

The historic visit of the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Ethiopia in July 2002, the first time after the Islamic Revolution, was a turning point in the relations of the two sisterly countries. Considering the objectives and goals of the development plans of Iran and their emphasis on increasing the non-oil exports and exporting consultancy and engineering services of Iran, the dire need to promote and enhance economic relation between Iran and Ethiopia has received due attention on both sides. In fact, a market of 65 million is quite significant to boost trade and attract foreign investment. The suitable geographical position of Ethiopia has also enabled the country to be a transit route for the transportation of goods from ports on the Red Sea to Sub-Saharan countries. The possibilities to have access to the COMESA mega market of 300 million people also provide a golden opportunity for Iranian entrepreneurs and investors to come to the region and expand their activities in the Horn of Africa.

The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Addis Ababa considering its responsibilities towards the overall development of relation with the host country and in line with the objectives, envisaged in the national development plans of the country, is determined to act as a center with reliable reference, to provide assistance to the business community of Iran and Ethiopia. The Embassy has always encouraged the business communities and investors of both countries to enhance their relations and has advised Iranian businessmen and investors to be active in the growing markets of Ethiopia and the other countries in the region. In that direction, the Embassy is ready to render any assistance and cooperation in terms of consultancy services, dissemination of information, follow up of joint ventures, facilitate the issuance of visa, etc.

The Embassy being aware of the problem of having access to reliable information in most African countries and also being aware of the fact that up to date and reliable information is the first step to be taken to establish activities in target countries, has tried to compile a collection of vital information for decision makers in the economic and political fields as well as to entrepreneurs, companies and the business community of Iran who are interested to Ethiopia and the region. The same has been done to those Ethiopian businessmen who are interested to work with Iran. The information have been gathered based on ground and inside assessments using different sources available in the country. All the information gathered have been loaded on the website of the Embassy to be used by interested people.

Such a step is a new initiative, a trial to disseminate information to all those who are interested to work together in Ethiopia, in particular to the business communities of both countries. Undoubtedly, the constructive views and comments of distinguished users of the website would enable us to further improve and upgrade the quantity and quality of information that we have placed on our website.