NOURNEWS - On Monday morning Iran’s local time, President Raisi left Tehran for a tour of three Latin American nations -Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba- at the head of large politico-economic delegation.
After the reception ceremony, President Raisi and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro held a meeting in which they discussed ways to boost bilateral cooperation.
In the meeting, Raisi described the relations between the two countries as “strategic”. “Despite the expansion of relations between Iran and Venezuela in recent years, diverse mutual capacities require the agreements of the two countries to be implemented as fast as possible and the relations between them to be upgraded to higher levels,” he said.
Iran’s president continued and underlined the achievements that Iran made while being under the US sanctions. He said Iran can share these achievements with Venezuela. “The Iranian nation has gained valuable experiences and achievements in the field of science and technology by standing up to the domination system and overcoming the sanctions, which can be shared with Venezuela,” he noted.
Ayatollah Raisi also touched on the emerging new world order, saying that such a development can benefit Iran and Venezuela. Stating that a new system is being formed in the world and the ever changing order of the world is shifting, Raisi said that the future of these developments will benefit the freedom-seeking and independent countries of the world.
Lauding the Venezuelan nation and government for their resistance against the system of domination, president of Iran said that in the consultations held during this trip, he has focused on the necessity of expanding relations and examining solutions for it. "There are very good potentials and capabilities in the two countries, the actualization of which can improve the relations between the two countries to a certain level despite the cruel sanctions,” he added, his official website reported.
The president of Iran stated, "Tehran and Caracas should turn sanctions and pressure into opportunities for progress; This movement has started in Iran and in the last two years good steps have been taken in this direction and these experiences can be used in Venezuela as well.”
Ayatollah Raisi also described the Islamic Republic of Iran as a friend of Venezuela in difficult circumstances and said, "The Islamic Republic of Iran has made significant progress in the fields of energy, industry and technology, and we are ready to exchange these experiences and capabilities with Venezuela."
To strengthen cooperation between two countries, Iran and Venezuela signed 19 documents various areas. The agreements were signed by senior officials of the two countries during the ceremony, overseen by Presidents Ebrahim Raisi and his Venezuelan counterpart.
The signed agreement covers a variety of sectors, including communications and information technology, energy, insurance, maritime transport, higher education, agriculture, medicine, cultural exchanges, and mining.
President of Iran further emphasized and said Iran and Venezuela can expand their bilateral trade volume in two phases, $10 billion in the first phase, and then expanding it to $20 billion, from around $3 billion at the moment.
The US has imposed harsh and illegal sanctions against Iran and Venezuela for a few years now. The two countries have taken a series of measures in recent years to expand their bilateral relations.
Speaking on joint efforts to reduce economic dependence on oil revenues and bolstering the resistance of their respective economies “against the arrogant system and to overcome the sanctions,” Ayatollah Raisi said: “In the new world order that is being formed, imperialism is falling and the countries that have resisted the arrogance of the arrogant are on the verge of victory.”
Maduro, for his part, said the two countries stand “on the right side of history” and will be “invincible,” in reference to their resistance to the US sanctions. “After imperial aggressions, after more than 900 criminal sanctions, here is Venezuela standing, holding out its hand to Iran,” the Venezuelan president said.
“Former President of the United States has confessed to a crime against humanity, and against the noble and peaceful people of Venezuela. He declared that the objective of his government and of the aggression and the sanctions against Venezuela was to make Venezuelan society collapse so that the imperialist power of the US would seize Venezuelan oil and wealth,” Maduro said.
Iran is one of Venezuela’s main allies in the world, and the presidents of the two countries have so far met on six occasions.
“Iran is playing a stellar role as one of the most important emerging powers in the new world,” Maduro noted. He also said investments in the fields of energy, oil, gas, gold, technology, and health between the two countries should be increased. “I have asked the president of Iran for increasing support for the development of powerful cooperation in science and technology, and our scientists are already working together,” he said.
BY: Pooya Mirzaei
NOURNEWS