Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro Meets Iran's Rouhani, Calls for Stronger Ties

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged for the strengthening of ties between Tehran and Caracas at the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Kazakhstan.

RELATED:

Venezuela's President Says Trump's New Sanctions Mean Sacrifice But Open Opportunities

Maduro met with Iran President Hassan Rouhani while he held talks with representatives from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC oil-producing countries. He elaborated that the “formation of a joint commission will provide a good basis for exploring new opportunities for strengthening Iran-Venezuela cooperation.”

Adding to Rouhani's call for less meddling into the sovereign affairs of independent countries by foreign states, Maduro highlighted that: “Venezuelan people, especially in the past six months, have witnessed U.S. invasions and interventions, but we will stand up to these pressures by maintaining our unity.”

The Iranian leader identified an economic alliance between the two countries as a significant step towards a stronger relationship.

Speaking to the media in the capital Astana, Maduro said his main agenda is to promote the message of peace as the key instrument for global integration, "We have come to push the dialogue between civilizations as a diplomacy and a peace mechanism in the face of so many threats and also to diversify our economic and trade relations with all the countries of the world."

The president also said that on this visit he sought to "diversify our economic relations with the countries of the Arab world and strengthen relations with non-OPEC countries."

Venezuela's Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino said his government will suggest raising OPEC's discussions on the new phase of the oil cut-off agreement from ministerial to presidential level.

OPEC members and countries outside the cartel have agreed to limit output by about 1.8 million barrels a day until the end of the first quarter of 2018.

As a venue for the presidential meeting, the Venezuelan government will propose Santa Cruz de la Sierra, in Bolivia, where the fourth Summit of Gas Exporting Countries will be held in November.

"There could be a good place to hold this meeting that also includes producers Opec and Non-OPEC to discuss at the highest level the presidency of the new phase of this agreement," he told VTV in Astana.