Iran: The Iranian President Mr. Ebrahim Raisi is expected to depart Tehran as he leads a large delegation to China at the invitation of President Mr. Xi Jinping.

The three-day trip is Mr. Raisi’s first state visit to the world’s most populous country and the first by an Iranian president in 20 years.

Mr. Raisi and Mr. Xi first met as presidents on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan in September 2022. China had supported Iran’s now-successful bid to become a full member of the organization.

The Iranian President, who took office in August 2021, will be accompanied by a diverse team, including the new central bank governor, who will outline his priorities during the trip. Six members of Mr. Raisi’s cabinet, including the ministers of economy, petroleum, foreign affairs, trade, transport, urban development, and agriculture, are also part of the delegation.

Mr. Xi Jinping | Image: WikipediaMr. Mohammad Jamshidi, deputy for political affairs, recently stated that the main goal of the trip is to “finalise the operational mechanisms” of the 25-year comprehensive cooperation agreement the two countries signed in 2021.

According to reports, the Asian economic giant invested just $162 million in the Iranian economy during the first year of Mr. Raisi’s presidency, less than Afghanistan and Turkey. China, nevertheless, remains Iran’s largest trading partner, with Iranian customs data for the first 10 months of the current Iranian calendar year, which ends in March, showing Iran exported $12.6 billion worth of goods to China and imported $12.7 billion.

In addition, along with Russia, China has also signalled that it supports Iran’s bid to join the powerful BRICS group of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

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