Iran, Venezuelasign cooperation agreements

November 20, 2007 - 0:0

TEHRAN (IRNA) -- Iran and Venezuela on Monday signed four agreements on industrial, energy, and banking cooperation.

The agreements, signed at the end of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's one-day visit to Tehran, are on the production of industrial molds, establishment of joint Iranian and Venezuelan banks and joint financial units.
Chavez made his fourth trip to Iran in two years on Monday as the two countries sought to strengthen ties. He arrived in Tehran from Saudi Arabia where he attended the weekend's OPEC summit.
The Venezuelan president was accompanied by a string of top Venezuelan officials for the hours-long visit — among them the foreign, industry, oil and communication ministers, as well as the mayor of Caracas, the country's capital.
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad also attended the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
During the gathering, the two leaders echoed one another, blaming President Bush's policies for the decline of the dollar and its negative effect on other countries.
Ahmadinejad said that OPEC's member countries should convert their cash reserves into a currency other than the depreciating U.S. dollar.
Chavez said the dollar was in free-fall and that its ""empire"" must end, and proposed trading oil in a basket of currencies excluding the dollar.
In July, the two countries broke ground to start building a jointly owned petrochemical complex in Iran, with 51 percent of it in Iranian ownership and 49 percent to be owned by Venezuela.
The two also began the construction of a second petrochemical complex in Venezuela, at a total combined cost of $1.4 billion.
The two nations believe their petrochemical partnership will help Iran access markets in Latin America and Venezuela would get access to energy markets in Asia, especially India.
During Chavez's previous visit in July, the two countries signed some 20 economic and trade agreements. Since 2001, they have signed over 180 trade agreements, worth more than $20 billion in potential investment.