A handout picture provided by the Iranian presidency shows Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi right and Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro left shaking hands after their meeting in Tehran on June 11, 2022. IRANIAN PRESIDENCY AFP TEHRAN Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his visiting Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro signed a 20 year partnership agreement on Saturday to boost cooperation in energy, economy, tourism, culture and politics, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.
At a press conference after the signing of the agreement, Raisi said that Iran has always tried to have ties with independent countries and that Venezuela's resistance against imperialism and enemies was exemplary. Raisi said Iran has decided to leverage sanctions on it and make them better opportunities for the country. Maduro, who arrived in Tehran on Friday with a high-ranking politico-economic delegation, said at the press conference that a weekly flight from Caracas, Venezuela's capital, to Tehran would begin on July 18.
Maduro's first visit to Iran comes amid the impasse between Iran's nuclear talks with world powers. The sanctions imposed by the United States and rising global food prices are putting additional strain on Iran's government and people.
On Saturday, the Venezuelan leader met with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during which Maduro said that his country is drawing up a precise roadmap for cooperation with Iran in various fields, particularly science and technology. ALSO READ: Venezuela's Maduro defends his right to 'free trade' with Iran.
Maduro said Venezuela has succeeded in confronting the US aggression through resistance and that the economic situation in the South American country has improved greatly over the past few years.
By strengthening its ties with Venezuela, Iran has shown that it takes risks in times of danger and offers a helping hand to its friends, according to Khamenei, who said that by strengthening its ties with Venezuela, Iran has shown that it takes risks and offers a helping hand in times of danger. Iran has provided several fuel cargoes to Venezuela and helped it in refinery repairs despite the pressure from the United States. Venezuela started importing Iranian heavy crude last month, expanding on a swap agreement inked last year to trade Iranian condensate for Venezuelan heavy crude.
Maduro visited Iran for the third time this week after trips to Turkey and Algeria.
READ MORE: Iran says it is ready to continue fuel shipments to Venezuela.