Tehran, Iran – Iran and Venezuela sign a 20-year “roadmap for cooperation” during a state visit by President Nicolas Maduro to Tehran, while the two oil-rich countries are subject to US sanctions. they pledged to strengthen bilateral ties.
The Venezuelan president met on Saturday with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi at Tehran’s Saadabad Palace, a day after arriving in the Iranian capital with a high-level political and economic delegation on a two-day trip.
In a joint conference after their meeting, the two praised the elevation of bilateral relations to the “strategic” level and agreed that both countries can strengthen trade ties in addition to the energy, science and technology, agriculture and tourism.
The roadmap for cooperation, the exact details of which have been kept secret, was signed by the foreign ministers of the two nations in the presence of their respective presidents.
Delegations from both countries discussed the details of future cooperation, as leaders focused on issues of mutual cooperation on economic issues amid crippling economic crises due to sanctions.
“The foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran has always been to maintain relations with independent countries, and Venezuela has shown that it has had incredible resistance to threats and sanctions from enemies and imperialism,” said Raisi. next to Maduro.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrive at a meeting in Tehran [President Website/WANA via Reuters]
Like Venezuela, he added, Iran has also faced US and other sanctions for decades, but has chosen to see them as an opportunity to move the country forward.
Raisi said Iran has been successful in breaking Washington’s “maximum pressure” policy since unilaterally abandoning the 2015 nuclear deal with the world powers in 2018.
Despite several rounds of talks, no progress has been made in reviving the historic deal that would likely ease sanctions in exchange for halting Tehran’s nuclear program.
On Saturday, Raisi accompanied Maduro and his delegation to a meeting with Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei also praised the two countries’ closer ties and efforts to counter the US, and supported Venezuela’s support for Palestine.
“The two countries’ successful experience has shown that the only way to counter the strong pressures and the hybrid US war is to oppose it and resist,” Maduro told his website.
Direct flight between Tehran and Caracas
Maduro also praised Venezuela’s “resistance to sanctions and imperialism” since 2017 and said his country intends to use Iran’s experiences in this area and will focus future cooperation on science and technology.
The Venezuelan president praised Iran’s “miracles” in the development of its agricultural sector amid historic droughts, and said the two countries intend to develop ties in that sector.
A direct flight between Tehran and Caracas will be established from July 18, Maduro announced, expressing hope that it will help more Iranians consider Venezuelan cities and natural sites as tourist destinations.
“I think our future will be one of solid and enjoyable friendships,” he said. “The future of the world is one of equality and justice and of the struggle against imperialism. We need to build that future together. “
In an interview with HispanTV state television on Friday, Maduro also praised Iran’s help with its deteriorating oil industry.
Raisi, who had sent oil minister Javad Owji to meet with Maduro earlier this year, promised on Saturday that co-operation would continue.
Following the meetings, Iranian state television said Raisi and Maduro attended a ceremony via a video link, during which Iran officially handed over the second of four Aframax tankers commissioned by Venezuela.
Built by a state-owned company, the Aframax is 250 meters long and can carry up to 800,000 barrels of oil.
“Facing American Hegemony”
Since 2020, Iran has helped repair and overhaul several Venezuelan refineries that have suffered decades of mismanagement, low investment and sanctions.
Hamed Mousavi, a political science professor at Tehran University, said the two presidents were trying to project an image of “confronting American hegemony.” [Vahid Salemi/AP Photo]
The countries also signed an oil exchange agreement last year, on the basis of which Iran sent shipments of its heavy crude oil to help Venezuela increase its oil and gas production to avoid its fuel crises. seen in recent years.
Speaking from Tehran, Hamed Mousavi, a political science professor at Tehran University, said the two presidents were trying to project an image of “resisting American hegemony.”
“This strategy could be successful if other larger countries such as China and Russia join forces,” he told Al Jazeera.
Stressing that the meeting of the joint delegation of Iran and Venezuela focused mainly on economic issues, Mousavi said that the two countries will benefit from economic cooperation, regardless of whether they remain under strict US sanctions.
Iran signed a 25-year cooperation agreement with China last year, which it said “entered the implementation stage” earlier this year.
It is also negotiating the renewal of a 20-year cooperation agreement with Russia, which was discussed during Raisi’s trip to Moscow in January.