The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Tuesday, July 11 night detailed a phone call conversation between CS Alfred Mutua and his counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian.
According to the statement released minutes before midnight, the phone call took place on Tuesday morning - hours before the visit of President Ebrahim Raisi was rescheduled.
The Iranian government described the phone call as friendly with President Ebrahim Raisi's visit featuring prominently in the talks.
During the call, whose timeline was not revealed, Amirabdollahian underlined the importance of Raisi's visit to the region, expressing that the Iranian delegation was seeking to strengthen ties in Africa.
"The two foreign ministers also discussed the issues and also documents pertaining to the Iranian president’s upcoming trip to Kenya.
"Amirabdollahian pointed to the place of African countries in the foreign policy of the 13th administration and also the huge existing potentials of Iran and Kenya," read the statement in part.
On the other hand, Mutua expressed that Kenya was looking forward to hosting Raisi as President William Ruto's administration also seeks to bolster bilateral ties between the two nations.
"In this friendly conversation, the top Kenyan diplomat expressed pleasure with the Iranian president’s upcoming visit to East Africa and over the fact that his tour of the region will begin in Kenya.
"He said Nairobi is ready to expand relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran in various areas and also welcomed the signing of finalized documents on cooperation between the two countries," read the statement in part.
Raisi's visit to Nairobi was rescheduled on Tuesday, July 11 leading to speculation of a diplomatic tiff.
In its explanation, the Mutua-led ministry indicated that the visit was rescheduled to allow both countries to continue with their discussions over the bilateral agreements.
Raisi arrived in the country on the morning of Wednesday, July 12, at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport ( JKIA) and was received by Mutua. He then headed to State House where he was received by Ruto and his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua.
