In a Tuesday meeting in Pretoria, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian and his South African counterpart Nomaindia Mfeketo explored the avenues to forge closer cooperation between the two nations in diverse fields.
The both diplomats also underlined the necessity for enhanced political interaction between Iran and South Africa to support Palestine.
Highlighting the supportive stances of South Africa towards Palestine, Amir Abdollahian expressed gratitude to Mfeketo for her participation in a ministerial meeting of the Palestine Committee of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), held in Tehran in August.
The African deputy minister, for her part, insisted that Iran and South Africa should maintain cooperation on “humanitarian supports” for Palestinians.
Back on August 4, delegates from member states of the NAM Palestine Committee convened a one-day meeting in Tehran to come up with plans to alleviate sufferings of innocent people of Gaza following Israel’s military offensive.
At the end of the meeting, participants issued a declaration and strongly condemned the lethal, indiscriminate and excessive use of force by Israel.
A total of 2,142 people, most of them civilians including more than 490 children, were killed in Gaza since war broke out on July 8, after Israel launched an offensive on the coastal enclave of 1.8 million population.
Thousands of homes in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed or damaged by the Israeli offensive.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said 540,000 people had been displaced in the Gaza Strip.