Ahmadinejad is scheduled to visit Niger, Ghana and Benin during his African tour. The Iranian president will depart Tehran for Niger’s capital, Niamey, on Sunday.
During his three-day visit, Ahmadinejad will hold talks with his African counterparts and ink new agreements to develop bilateral economic and political cooperation.
The visit comes as Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi formally invited the new Ghanaian president John Dramani Mahama to pay an official visit to the Islamic Republic during a trip to Accra on January 8.
For his part, Mahama welcomed Iran’s invitation and promised to visit Iran as soon as possible.
He also invited Ahmadinejad to visit Ghana, expressing hope that the two countries would upgrade their cooperation when their business councils meet in mid-2013.
This is Ahmadinejad’s last visit of to Africa as Iran’s president since his term in the office comes to an end in two months.
The Islamic Republic’s 11th presidential election will be held in June 2013.