Iranian President Sayyid Ebrahim Raisi (left) and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro (right) in the military ceremony that officially received the Venezuelan president. Photo: Al Mayadeen English.
The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and his Iranian counterpart, Sayyid Ebrahim Raisi, presented the Iran-Venezuela bilateral cooperation plan for the next 20 years, which covers four fundamental areas. Maduro is in an official visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran as part of an international tour. Iran is his third stop in the tour, after having visited Turkey and Algeria.
The two presidents issued a joint statement at the Saab Abad Palace, the seat of the Iranian presidency, in Tehran, and signed the Iran-Venezuela cooperation agreement that covers the energy sector (oil, gas, refinery and petrochemicals) and the financial sector through the National Development Bank of Iran.
The strategic agreements also cover defense, tourism, agriculture and food production.
Entérate | Mapa de cooperación Venezuela-Irán abarca las siguientes áreas:
📍Energético: petróleo, gas, refinerías, petroquímica
Financiero a través el Banco Nacional de Desarrollo Irán – Venezuela
📍Defensa con la unión de las capacidades productivas de Irán y Venezuela pic.twitter.com/KJqTOXMdfN— Prensa Presidencial (@PresidencialVen) June 11, 2022
“We are now in better conditions, more prepared and stronger to articulate the strength of Iran and Venezuela in a truly amazing plan of cooperation,” expressed the Venezuelan president.
Caracas – Tehran direct flight
One of the cooperation agreements signed is related to the Caracas-Tehran commercial passenger air route. On July 18, Venezuelan state airline CONVIASA will inaugurate a weekly flight between the two countries.
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With this direct route, the cultural exchange between both peoples will broaden, in addition to promoting tourism.
President Maduro stressed that “Venezuela is open to receive tourists from Iran so that they can enjoy the natural beauty of the Caribbean, of South America, of the Andes, and the Amazon.”
The president of Iran added that the direct flight will not only increase mobility between Iran and Venezuela, but will also contribute to enhancing bilateral economic and trade relations.
Iran-Venezuela cooperation plan
President Maduro highlighted that the Iran-Venezuela cooperation plan centers around joint strategies to produce and export food, to consolidate food sovereignty and food security.
Regarding the food sector, he assured that 30 million hectares of cultivable land in Venezuela will help not only to increase the internal production of food, but also to produce food for export to Iran and other parts of Asia.
As for the technological alliance, cooperation will be based on increasing production levels, given the historical experience of Iran, in desert areas.
“Iran, over the years, has achieved an economic miracle in the production of all its food… 70% of the territory of Iran is more or less desert, so they produce their food in 30% of the territory,” expressed Maduro.
He added that although Venezuela “went through difficult years as a result of the imperialist aggression,” it has successfully overcaome the difficulties, “and has entered a stage of real and true recovery.”
He stressed that in the coming years the world will witness how our countries will grow despite difficulties, and how a new world of justice will be born, free from imperialism, a world of equality. “There are many things that are yet to be done in the future, and we are going to do them well to consolidate comprehensive economic recovery, to recover the productive forces of our country,” he explained.
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Venezuela will learn how to achieve all this from the historical experience of Iran, added Maduro.
Recibimos la entrega del Tanquero Yoraco, construido por la Empresa iraní Sadra, y por la clase obrera de PDVSA, con capacidad de 800 mil barriles. Estoy más que agradecido por la construcción de este moderno buque que refleja la capacidad industrial de la hermana nación de Irán. pic.twitter.com/Q445kx3WHO
— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) June 11, 2022
In this regard, President Raisi of Iran affirmed that Venezuela is recovering from a difficult situation, which demonstrates the resistance of the Venezuelan government and its people. “We believe that there is every possibility of exchanging experiences through scientific and technological centers in the areas of oil, gas, petrochemicals, agriculture,” he said.
Iran gives second oil tanker to Venezuela
Venezuela received the Iranian-made tanker Yoraco, as part of the oil agreements signed between Caracas and Tehran. The Yoraco tanker, built by the Iranian company Sadra, has a capacity to transport 800,000 barrels of oil.
President Maduro highlighted that this tanker demonstrates the “industrial capacity of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” something that is “truly admirable.” “This plan to build ships for our PDVSA was a plan of Commander Chávez to strengthen our oil industry and make it independent from any imperial aggression,” he added.
President Nicolás Maduro and President Ebrahim Raisi celebrate the delivery ceremony of the Yoraco tanker built by SADRA, within the framework of the Iran-Venezuela high-level comprehensive cooperation agreement. pic.twitter.com/WXRwyNKF72
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) June 11, 2022
This ship is the second of four oil tankers to be delivered by Iran to Venezuela, within the framework of the bilateral agreements the two countries signed in recent years.
Iran has made significant progress in shipbuilding and other fields of manufacturing industry in recent years, and has developed several domestic and international projects. Earlier, Iran delivered to Venezuela the first giant Aframax-type oil tanker, with the capacity to transport up to 113,000 tons of oil. The new tanker, Yoraco, is 250 meters long, 44 meters wide, 21 meters high, with a draft depth of 14.8 meters, can reach a speed of 15 knots, and is capable of transporting 800,000 barrels of oil.
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SC
