Iranian president announces long-term cooperation pact with Venezuela

DPA Tehran Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has announced a long-term cooperation pact with Venezuela. “In order to strengthen the relations of the two cou...

DPATehran Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has announced a long-term cooperation pact with Venezuela.“In order to strengthen the relations of the two countries, a long-term pact should be worked out and signed,” Raisi said after his meeting Venezuelan Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia in Tehran on Monday.Iran wants close relations with especially those developing countries that, like Tehran, also defend their independence against imperialist powers, Raisi said, according to the presidential office’s web portal.Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian also confirmed Iran’s interest in the pact.“The 20-year cooperation agreement is expected to be formally signed soon during President (Nicoals) Maduro’s state visit to Tehran,” the Iranian chief diplomat said at a joint press conference with Plasencia.Iranian companies in particular could benefit from the pact, according to Amirabdollahian.Islamic Iran and the socialists in Caracas have maintained very close relations for decades, but local observers consider their importance more symbolic than political.Therefore, in their view, the planned pact with Caracas is more a political gesture against the common political enemy, the United States, than a serious economic project.Unlike Iran’s two other long-term agreements with China and Russia, the pact with the crisis-ridden government of Venezuela will hardly bring any economic advantages for Iranian companies.