Parliament Speaker Urges Development of Iran-Venezuela Economic Ties
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf called for efforts to promote economic cooperation with Venezuela, saying the trade ties between the two countries should not lag behind their political relations.
In a meeting with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia in Tehran on Monday, Qalibaf said the governments and parliaments of Iran and Venezuela need to pave the way for enhancing bilateral ties in the fields of tourism and agriculture as well as technical and engineering services “through bringing the private sectors of the two countries closer”.
“The political relations between the two countries are at a good level, thus we should put our efforts into boosting the economic ties accordingly,” Qalibaf said.
He referred to the far distance between Iran and Venezuela as one of the challenges for enhanced bilateral economic ties but stressed that problems can be resolved amid mutual keenness to boost cooperation.
Stressing that the parliamentary friendship groups in the two countries have become more active, the parliament speaker said, “We are self-sufficient in many military and civilian industries and we can ensure many of our needs relying on our indigenous knowledge.”
For his part, Plasencia expressed his country’s willingness to further expand ties with Iran in various fields.
He stressed that the two countries’ parliaments maintain good relation, expressing hope that the parliament speakers of the two countries would meet in the near future, Press TV reported.
The Venezuelan minister also announced that a meeting of a joint commission on economic cooperation would be held in the coming months to strengthen economic relations between Iran and Venezuela.