Iran’s President Raisi Set To Bolster Economic, Political Ties With Latin American Allies
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will visit Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela next week to sign bilateral agreements strengthening cooperation with the three Latin American countries on matters including economics, politics, and science.
Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, announced the visit, saying that Raisi would leave Iran on June 11 and that the tour stemmed from invitations by the presidents of each of the three countries. The agency said that during Raisi’s visit, documents to expand bilateral cooperation on economic, political, and scientific issues would be signed between Iran and the three countries.
Amid the international isolation of Iran, Raisi, who took office in August 2021, has vowed to enhance ties with friendly governments in Latin America and elsewhere. The tour will give Raisi face-to-face time with three regional allies, each of whom leads leftist governments that have been accused by critics of human rights violations.
Iran and Venezuela are both members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro visited Iran in June 2022, where he signed a 20-year pact to open “major fronts” for cooperation in the oil, petrochemical, and defense sectors.
The last Iranian president to visit Cuba and Venezuela was Hassan Rouhani in September 2016, while the last Iranian president to visit Nicaragua was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2007.
