Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana-Dlamini Zuma together with her Iranian counterpart Kamal Kharrazi have begun their two-day bilateral talks this morning.

The talks between the two ministers aim to strengthening political and economic ties between the South Africa and Iran.

The two leaders are co-chairing the 7th session of the SA and Iran Joint Bilateral Commission in Pretoria that seeks to increase market access in Iran for South Africa's goods and services to further boost trade relations between the two countries. In its move to further consolidate co-operation between their respectively private sectors, the two leaders will address the inaugural South Africa-Iran Business Forum in Johannesburg later today.

“The Forum will be used to promote trade and investment opportunities in South Africa and Iran in a more organised fashion,” said the ministry of affairs.

Trade relations between the two countries are at the moment favouring Iran through the “sugar for oil” trade, where Iran total exports mainly oil, stood at R5,2-billion in 2002, constituted 40% of the country's supplies. South Africa's exports to Iran mainly in sugar in 2002 were to the tune of R325-million. So far, a number of South African companies including local oil giants Sasol and PetroSA have been investing in the Iranian petrochemical sector while a consortium of Iranian companies, One Vision Investments recently invested R500-million in a housing development in the fast growing Parklands area in the Western Cape.

The consortium is currently looking into expanding their interest to the Eastern Cape as well.

Earlier last week, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad urged South African business sector to take advantage of the visit by the Iranian business delegation to 'break trade barriers' in order to reduce the trade imbalance between the two countries. He said his department would also use the opportunity to persuade Iran to open up its market for South African imports of meat and agricultural products, to further reduce trade imbalances between the two countries. “We are trying to get the Iranians to really open-up the importation of South Africa's meat and fresh products. We haven't made sufficient breakthrough on that,” he said.

According to foreign affairs department, today's bilateral talks would also focus on promoting mutual exchange of technology and marketing of South African technical know-how as well as strengthening co-operation in multilateral forums to promote the objectives of South-South Dialogue and to support the African Renaissance.

Since the establishment of relations between Iran and South Africa in 1994, the two are enjoying good relations in both the economic and political spheres, under the binational commission set up to improve co-operation in the economic, agricultural, mining, scientific, arts, sports, cultural and educational fields. – BuaNews.