New Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi's visit to Ethiopia was postponed Sunday as it had coincided with his busy agenda after receiving a vote of confidence from Majlis, it was reported Monday.
However, a delegation from Iran's Foreign Ministry was sent to Ethiopia to replace Salehi at the 16th African Union Summit which is being held on January 30-31 in Addis Ababa, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told IRNA Monday.
The delegation was headed by Foreign Ministry's Deputy for Legal and International Affairs Mohammad-Mehdi Akhoundzadeh, the spokesman added in an exclusive interview with IRNA.
Iran attends the African Union Summit as an observer state.
Previous reports said that Salehi left Tehran for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to attend the African Union Summit while the new foreign minister had failed to make the visit "as he was to attend important sessions after winning a vote of confidence from the Iranian Parliament (Majlis)," Mehmanparast said.
"Salehi's visit to Ethiopia was postponed as it was necessary that he took part in a series of key meetings after receiving a vote of confidence from Majlis," Mehmanparast explained.
Salehi was elected as Iran's new foreign minister on Sunday when 146 out of 243 Iranian parliamentarians who were present in the voting, voted in his favor while 60 others rejected him and the remaining 37 abstained.