Venezuela and Iran enhance economic and political relations

During the Middle East leg of his international tour, Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, paid a visit to Tehran over the weekend. At the conclusion of the official visit to Iran, Venezuelan Head of State and the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, penned various cooperation agreements and promised mutual backing at OPEC´s meetings.They also inaugurated a binational bank "with an initial capital of USD 200 million to finance joint development, economic, industrial and mining projects".

[q url=""]Iran and Venezuela have called for making joint efforts to fight against the global economic crisis and enhance economic relations.  Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez issued a joint statement in Tehran on Saturday at the end of a four-day visit by the Latin American president to Iran. The two presidents agreed that Western capitalism controls has led to the ongoing economic crisis in the world, stressing that this system has lost its efficiency. Ahmadinejad and Chavez promised to promote bilateral cooperation at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) with the aim of protecting the rights of oil producing and oil exporting countries, and setting a fair price for oil on the international market.  The two OPEC member states have enhanced their business relations in the wake of the current global economic crisis in a bid to stave off trade and industry woes intensified by the world's frozen banking sector. On Friday, Iran and Venezuela inaugurated their first joint bank with an initial capital of USD 200 million to finance joint development, economic, industrial and mining projects. The capital is intended to reach as much as USD 1.2 trillion. Meanwhile, on Saturday Iran and Venezuela signed nine documents to promote bilateral cooperation in the fields of mines, agriculture, energy, and technical and engineering services. Chavez, a vocal critic of the global capitalistic system, is scheduled to leave Tehran for Tokyo on Sunday to hold talks with Japanese officials. SF/SC/MMN[/q]