Iran and Venezuela sign 20-year cooperation plan

Representative image

Iran and Venezuela on Saturday signed a 20-year cooperation plan, according to live coverage on Iranian state TV.

The plan includes cooperation in the fields of oil, petrochemicals, tourism, and culture.

The signing ceremony was held in North Tehran's Saadabad Palace in the presence of visiting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi.

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on his maiden visit to the nation announced the opening of a weekly flight route from Caracas to Tehran and said Venezuelan coffee could be sold to Iran, alongside the plan to sign an agreement on Saturday in different areas of cooperation.

Iran and Venezuela, both sanctioned by the United States, since 2020 have expanded cooperation, particularly for energy projects and oil swaps, helping the Caribbean nation ease the effect of Washington's measures.

In May, Iran's state-owned National Iranian Oil Engineering and Construction Co signed a contract worth about 110 million euros to repair Venezuela's smaller 146,000 barrel-per-day refinery.

The agreement was sealed after recent negotiations attended by Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji, who was in Venezuela early last month and met with Maduro.

Maduro arrived in Tehran on Friday as part of an official trip that earlier this week included Turkey and Algeria. He said he was accompanied by ministers and officials in areas including agriculture, technology, oil, communications, tourism and transportation.