HARARE -- President Robert Mugabe is today expected to travel Iran on Sunday in a bid to bolster economic ties and elicit investment from the Persian Gulf state as the West continue to withhold critical funding needed to fully restore the once vibrant economy, according senior government officials.Mugabes trip comes just weeks after a visit by hardliner Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to open the countrys annual trade exhibition in Bulawayo.
During the five-day trip to Tehran, Mugabe is expected to hold talks with Ahmadinejad and business leaders and sign cooperative agreements that he hopes would see increased investment into the country.
Mugabe last month backed Iran’s controversial nuclear programme and charged that the West was seeking to punish the two countries for asserting their independence.
Yes the President will be leading a delegation to Iran on Sunday. It is a State visit at the invitation of the Iranian government, an aide in Mugabes office said, declining to give further details.
Ahmadinejads visit last month was boycotted by Tsvangirais MDC and further widened rifts within the coalition government. The MDC described Mugabe’s decision to invite Ahmadinejad as a “colossal political scandal”.
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