Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday continued his visit to Zimbabwe, where he was scheduled to open a major trade fair despite fierce opposition from one of Zimbabwe's governing parties, DPA reported.
Ahmadinejad was expected to open the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in the western city of Bulawayo, a stronghold of the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
The MDC, which is in coalition President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF, has termed the visit of the Iranian "war monger" an "insult to the peace-loving people of Zimbabwe and Iran" and snubbed him.
Tsvangirai and his number two, Finance Minister Tendai Biti, are both out of the country on "previous engagements" and no senior MDC official attended a state dinner given by Mugabe in Ahmadinejad's honour Thursday evening.
The party fears foreign investors will be put off by the spectacle of Mugabe receiving Iran with open arms at a time when the United Nations Security Council is considering extra sanctions on Iran over its controversial nuclear programme.
Zimbabwe badly needs foreign investment to recover from an economic collapse wrought by Mugabe's previous government in 2008.
In this context, Mugabe's invitation to a "leader of questionable legitimacy" to open the trade fair was "like inviting a mosquito to cure malaria," the MDC said.
Mugabe and Ahmadinejad, both of whom retained power in presidential elections marked by state repression, struck back at their critics at Thursday's dinner.
Both countries were "the victims of illegal and unjustified sanctions imposed by Western countries who want to undermine our sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity," Mugabe said.
The two men signed a number of agreements on trade and tourism.
Later Friday, Ahmadinejad will continue his African tour in Uganda. He seeking support from President Yoweri Museveni's government against increased sanctions threatened by the United Nations Security Council, of which Uganda is currently a member.
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