Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Sunday he will soon visit Iran to finalize new agreements on cooperation with the West Asian country, which has become Venezuela’s top ally in boosting oil output amid U.S. sanctions, Reuters reported.

Venezuela and Iran have strengthened their ties since last year.

Maduro’s government has received vital equipment for its oil industry from Iran, which in return has received crude and other primary resources from the South American country. Iran has been crucial for Venezuela’s rising oil production in 2021.

“I am going to Teheran very soon, for a visit that President (Ebrahim) Raisi offered me, so that we meet in person, to hold conversations and sign new agreements … and speed up processes of cooperation,” Maduro said during an interview with satellite news broadcaster Al Mayadeen in Spanish, which was later broadcast on Venezuelan state television.

Maduro said he has had two telephone conversations with Iran’s president, adding that they have agreed to work on new plans, without providing details. He also did not give a date for the visit but described the two countries as “fighters.”

In 2022, Venezuela will also look to reactivate means of cooperation with Arab countries, Maduro added, saying that “they love us in the Arab world, I know that Arab governments and peoples love Venezuela.”

The tightening of U.S. sanctions since 2019 has affected Venezuela’s ability to sell crude and import fuel, which has exacerbated gasoline shortages across the country.

Iran, Venezuela expected to sign 20-year cooperation accord during Maduro’s visit

Iran will sign a 20-year cooperation accord with Venezuela when Maduro visits Tehran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian broke the story in a joint press conference with his Venezuelan counterpart Felix Plasencia in Tehran on October 18.

A joint economic cooperation commission, which will be formed in Iran’s capital before the end of the year, will finalize the details of the agreement, Amir Abdollahian said.

“All of this confirms that relations between the two countries are on the rise,” the Iranian foreign minister said, adding that some of the agreements made earlier on cooperation on a wide range of issues, including energy, are currently being implemented.

Plasencia’s visit to Iran came shortly after Reuters reported that an Iran-flagged supertanker, carrying two million barrels of heavy crude provided by the Venezuelan state-run oil firm, was about to set sail for Iran.

The vessel had reportedly arrived in Venezuela in September carrying 2.1 million barrels of Iranian condensate.

The exchange was part of a swap deal between the two countries that defies unilateral United States sanctions on both states.

During the joint press conference, Iran’s chief diplomat expressed full support for the people of Venezuela and President Maduro, saying U.S. policies on Venezuela are “unconstructive”.

“In bilateral cooperation, we are now on a path where Iranian goods are accessible in several Venezuelan cities,” Amir Abdollahian said.

Plasencia also said devising a long-term cooperation plan between Tehran and Caracas would help defend multilateralism and fight U.S. intervention.

News of the 20-year agreement comes as Iran and China clinched a 25-year cooperation accord earlier this year, with Iran also eyeing a long-term agreement with Russia.

Last month, Iran’s years-long bid to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was approved, bringing hope to Tehran that new opportunities, in defiance of U.S. sanctions, will now be possible.