TEHRAN- With the signing of a comprehensive plan for cooperation the path to strengthening cooperation between Iran and Venezuela will be widened even more than ever before, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said in a meeting on Saturday with his Venezuelan counterpart Carlos Faria, who had visited Tehran along with his country’s president.

Amir Abdollahian and Faria also discussed a variety of bilateral and international issues. 

The Iranian top diplomat congratulated Faria on his appointment as Venezuelan foreign minister, noting that the ties between Iran and Venezuela are now in the best possible shape.

Iran and Venezuela signed a 20-year strategic partnership at the Saadabad Palace in Tehran on Saturday morning. It includes cooperation in the fields of politics, culture, economy, oil and petrochemicals, and tourism. The document was signed at the presence of President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro.

Amir Abdollahian expressed optimism that, in the future, the groundwork for executing the 20-year document will be laid with an increase in contacts and exchanges of visits.

Faria, for his part, underlined that, despite the U.S. unilateral sanctions, Venezuela admires Iran's success in the domains of knowledge-based economy, industry, and other disciplines.

Faria also pointed to his prior close cooperation with Iranian parties in previous posts, emphasizing that the fresh wave of cooperation is a good opportunity.

He emphasized that Venezuela completely supports the Iranian government's stance that the sanctions might be a positive chance.