Mohammad Khatami, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran arrived Friday morning in Miraflores presidential palace to enter into several agreements, most of them related to energy. The meeting of the Iranian ruler with Venezuelan President Hugo Chävez was delayed as Chävez had to stay one extra day in Paris due to faults in the presidential plane. Chävez welcomed Khatami at 9:15 a.m. in Miraflores presidential palace, according to AFP. The Iranian president arrived in Venezuela Thursday afternoon as part of a tour focused on the execution of energy agreements by the two OPEC member countries that overtly run counter to Washington policies. Agreements include the construction of cement facilities, double taxation, central banks and housing, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry reported. On Friday afternoon, Khatami will deliver a speech in the National Assembly. On Saturday, Khatami and Chävez will visit the mining city of Ciudad Guayana to open a tractor assembly plant.
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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez offered his support for Iran's nuclear development plans while attacking Washington for trying to "impose its doctrine, its politics and its interests on the world". | "So unlike my good friends in the Islamic Republic of Iran," he added. |
Speaking after talks with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, Chavez declared that Iran has "all the right to develop its atomic energy", and that Venezuela opposes any attempts "to deny the Iranians this right." Khatami, on a three-day visit to Venezuela, said the two countries "are firmly opposed to any aggression which takes place in the their countries", adding that "instead of polarity and terror we want peace and security in the world". On Friday Chavez awarded Khatami one of Venezuela's top honorary decorations, "The Order of Liberator Simon Bolivar". |