CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP): Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was in Venezuela Thursday for a visit aimed at boosting cooperation between the two oil-rich countries whose governments are among the most critical of the US administration.
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| Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. AFP PHOTO |
Mottaki was in the South American country "to reinforce our ties, review bilateral relations, increase cooperation and analyze new elements of integration and bilateral cooperation," said Venezuela's deputy foreign minister Vladimir Villegas.
The Iranian minister was scheduled to hold talks with his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro, who had visited Iran last month. Government officials said it was not immediately clear whether he would meet with President Hugo Chavez.
The two governments last year signed 29 cooperation accords, including agreements for Iranian participation in the construction of factories in Venezuela to produce cars, small aircraft, petrochemicals, cement and gunpowder.
Both governments are among the most virulent critics of the administration of US President George W. Bush, and Chavez has repeatedly defended Iran's controversial nuclear program.
"What Iran is doing is something legitimate, it is developing its nuclear energy for peaceful means," the firebrand leftist leader said on Sunday.
Mottaki told Iranian nationals in Caracas Wednesday that Iran would never give up its right to pursue peaceful nuclear activities, according to Iran's state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA.)
At the meeting held at the Iranian embassy in Caracas, Mottaki expressed hope that serious and constructive talks would resume between Iran and Western countries to settle the nuclear dispute, IRNA said. |
