TEHRAN – Saeed Khatibzadeh, the spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, announced on Monday that the chief Iranian diplomat would set off a regional tour on Tuesday that will include Bolivia, Cuba, and Venezuela. 

According to the spokesman, the first leg of Zarif’s trip will get him to Cuba, where he is expected to hold talks with Cuban officials. Zarif will leave Cuba for Venezuela. 

“Cuba and Venezuela are among the political partners of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Latin American region, which have long had extensive political cooperation in bilateral, regional and international sectors,” said Khatibzadeh, adding, “Venezuela is one of our country’s main destinations for the export of technical and engineering services, and the Iranian private sector has implemented or is implementing various projects in this country.”

According to the spokesman, Iran and Venezuela have built “good cooperation” in the energy sector.

He added, “During Dr. Zarif’s visit to the two countries, in addition to consulting with senior officials of these countries on important regional and international issues and informing these friendly countries about the positions and views of our country, extensive cooperation in various economic and trade sectors will be discussed.”

Zarif will also visit Bolivia and take part in the inauguration of the country’s new president. 

SM/PA