Iranian president in Venezuela to reaffirm strong ties

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was welcomed on Monday by his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro at the Miraflores presidential palace to strengthen binational strategic cooperation in the economic, political, scientific and energy sectors.

Raisi arrived in Caracas for the start of a tour of Iran´s allied countries in Latin America, which will also take him to Cuba and Nicaragua, all of which are battling sanctions from a common adversary, the United States.

On the occasion of Raisi's visit, Maduro said on Twitter that Venezuela found friends in the world, "with whom we are united in resistance, courage and self-determination to remain free peoples. We will always welcome them in our Homeland!"

Raisi was welcomed by Foreign Minister Yvan Gil in the Caracas airport, after which he visited the Mausoleum of Simon Bolivar, a revolutionary who brought independence to Venezuela and other countries in the continent.

The president was later received by Maduro with the highest military honors and a horse escort. Raisi arrived in Venezuela with first lady Jamileh-Sadat Alamolhoda.

In 2022 Maduro visited Iran, where he signed a 20-year pact to cooperate in the oil, petrochemicals and defense sectors. This is Raisi's first visit to the South American country, which comes amid an accusation by the US that the Iranian government is helping Russia to build a drone manufacturing plant, as Moscow seeks to secure a weapon supply for its invasion of Ukraine.

Venezuela and Iran have maintained close relations since the government of former President Hugo Chavez and both countries have signed hundreds of commercial, industrial, financial, oil and infrastructure cooperation agreements.​​​​​​​