Maduro, Iranian oil minister stress development of energy ties
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During the visit of an Iranian team led by Oil Minister Javad Oji to Venezuela, officials from both nations emphasized the importance of developing ties between the two countries.
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Iran, and Venezuela stress expansion of energy ties.
During the visit of an Iranian team led by Oil Minister Javad Oji to Venezuela, the minister met separately with a number of high-ranking Venezuelan officials, including President Nicolas Maduro and First Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, to discuss the development of Tehran-Caracas bilateral relations, in addition to meeting and talking with Venezuelan Oil Minister Tareck Zaidan El Aissami, Shana news agency reported.
"Today we had meetings with the President of Venezuela, Maduro, and other senior Venezuelan officials. Iran-Venezuela relations have a long history and we want to use all our capacities to develop relations and joint cooperation", the oil minister wrote in his latest Twitter post on Tuesday.
In late February, Iran and Venezuela inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance cooperation in many areas of the oil business.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed on the sidelines of the 6th Summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), which was held in Doha at the time, by Iranian Oil Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia Gonzalez.
The agreement includes a wide range of topics, including technical services cooperation, technology transfer, training, and educational services, and cooperation in the growth of the refining industry.
It is worth mentioning that the Iranian delegation has already visited the Paraguana refinery complex in western Venezuela, meeting with Petroleos de Venezuela SA head Asdrubal Chavez, with whom Oji is set to sign energy cooperation deals on Monday.
The two nations have been subjected to harsh, unilateral US sanctions that have taken a toll on their economies. Washington did not even lift its sanctions during the pandemic, terribly affecting Tehran and Caracas' ability to combat COVID-19.
The United States does not currently import oil from either nation, though Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro met with senior US officials in Caracas in March, which meant for many that there was hope that Washington would pivot away from its unilateral policy when it comes to the Latin American nation amid the global energy crisis sparked by the West's sanctions on Russia in light of the Ukraine war.
