TEHRAN – Niger’s Ambassador to Iran Seydou Zetau Ali said his country welcomes imports of mineral and mining industry products from Iran and is keen for the Islamic Republic to play a concrete role in Niger’s mining sector.

In a meeting on Monday with Mohammad Aghajani, Iran’s deputy industry minister and head of the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), Ali expressed hope that a cooperation agreement between the two countries would be finalized swiftly, avoiding bureaucratic delays.

He invited the IMIDRO chief to visit Niger to explore mining opportunities firsthand and said he hoped a memorandum of understanding would be signed during an upcoming visit to Iran by Niger’s minister of mines. The ambassador also highlighted the importance of developing trade logistics, including shipping and transportation links.

Aghajani said Iran views Africa as a strategic partner in mining and emphasized Iran’s readiness to export mineral chain products and engineering know-how to Niger. He noted that Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade and IMIDRO are focused on unlocking Iran’s full potential in this sector through international cooperation.

He added that in the first phase of cooperation, IMIDRO plans to expand exports of mineral products and engineering expertise to Niger, subject to legal and procedural requirements.

Several IMIDRO officials, including Somayeh Kholousi, head of planning and capacity-building for mines, Omid Emami, head of mining development projects, and Amir-Nojan Younesian, director of investment and economic development, also presented Iran’s capabilities during the session.

Iran exported around $14 billion worth of mineral and mining industry products last year. However, African countries currently represent a small share of that market. Iran has around 7,000 active mines, producing 600 million tons of minerals annually, which are a backbone of domestic production and employment.

In late April, Iran and Niger signed a joint cooperation agreement during the third meeting of their Joint Economic Committee, held on the sidelines of the Iran Expo 2025.

According to Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), the event took place at the Persian Gulf Pearl Hall in Tehran and was attended by Iranian Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Seyed Mohammad Atabak, Trade Promotion Organization chief Mohammad Ali Dehghan Dehnavi, and Nigerien Petroleum Minister Sahabi Oumarou.

“This committee has resumed after a 13-year hiatus, and we hope the joint cooperation agreement will help elevate the level of economic relations between the two countries,” Atabak said at the opening of the meeting.

He pointed to the currently low volume of trade between Iran and Niger, stressing that the Trade Promotion Organization is responsible for following up on and implementing the provisions of the agreement. He also called on Niger to assign a designated organization to oversee the execution of the accord.

Dehghan Dehnavi said experts from both sides had held extensive talks over the past two days to finalize the agreement. “Various aspects of cooperation were reviewed and discussed, and the experts agreed to continue bilateral ties across multiple sectors,” he noted.

He added that the agreement covers mining, energy, industry, and technology transfer. “A joint task force will follow up on the specific topics outlined in the agreement,” he said.

The deputy minister also emphasized that the agreement marks a new chapter in Iran-Niger economic and trade relations, adding that additional documents will be prepared by experts for the next round of the committee.

Niger’s petroleum minister, Sahabi Oumarou, stressed the need for both sides to promote market potential and trade opportunities. “Current trade levels are below what is needed, and improving them will require effort from both countries,” he said.

The joint agreement was officially signed by the two ministers at the close of the meeting.

EF/MA