Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro visits major Iranian tech firm, MAPNA

Venezuela is one of the farthest countries from Iran, but it's among the country's closest allies. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has had a busy schedule since he arrived in Iran.

Here, he took a tour of one of Iran's major engineering companies, MAPNA Group, where he was warmly welcomed by the Iranian tech firm. Maduro arrived in Tehran on Friday as part of an official trip that was slated to take two days, but later was announced to last for a week.

Heading a politico-economic delegation, the Venezuelan official and his Iranian counterpart, Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi, signed a 20-year cooperation agreement on Saturday to expand ties in the oil and petrochemical industries, military and economy.

Iran has been a key player in supplying fuel to energy-hungry Venezuela. Both sanctioned by the United States, Tehran and Caracas have boosted their partnership since 2020, especially in energy projects and oil swaps, helping the South American nation mitigate the impacts of Washington's embargoes.

During Maduro's visit, the two sides also agreed to launch direct flights between Caracas and Tehran in order to promote tourism and trade between the two countries.

With shared concerns, shared interests and a common adversary, Iran and Venezuela are poised to expand their strategic alliance, viewing it as a counter-force to Washington's coercive measures against both nations.

ME