MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Iranian President rounds up Latin American tour

Cuba has a friend in Iran, Díaz-Canel told Raisi

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi Wednesday rounded up a Latin American tour after his stop in Havana to meet with his Cuban colleague Miguel Díaz-Canel following calls in Caracas and Managua

During a business forum at the Caribbean island, Raisi discussed bilateral cooperation in the fields of biotechnology, mining, and electricity generation, among other topics.

After signing some bilateral agreements with Díaz-Canel, the Iranian head of state also met with Cuban historic leader Raúl Castro.

Raisi assured Díaz-Canel that “the conditions and circumstances in which Cuba and Iran find themselves today have many points in common” in reference to US-imposed sanctions on both nations.

“Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, and Iran are among the countries that have had to heroically confront, with tenacious resistance, the sanctions, threats, blockades, and interference of Yankee imperialism and its allies,” Díaz-Canel responded.

The Cuban President also said he believed that Raisi's visit reinforced his conviction that Cuba has a friendly nation in Iran in the Middle East, “with the confidence to talk about the most complex global issues.”

The subsequent meeting with Castro took place “in an atmosphere of friendship and respect, typical of the ties that both countries have maintained for more than 40 years”, according to an official note. Castro thanked Iran for its support against the blockade and stressed that both nations have known how to defend their independence and sovereignty. “In the cordial exchange, the willingness of Cuba and Iran to continue strengthening relations of friendship and cooperation, as well as high-level political dialogue was reaffirmed,” the text noted.

In addition to agreements on integral cooperation between governments, political consultations between foreign ministries and cooperation in telecommunications, information technology, and information and portable services, Iran and Cuba signed two memorandums of understanding, one on customs matters and the other between both Ministries of Justice.

Last February, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian was in Havana after stops in Managua and Caracas. In May 2022, Cuban Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas visited Tehran, where he met with Raisi and Amir Abdollahian.

The previous Iranian president, Hasan Rohani, visited Cuba in September 2016, where he met with then-President Raúl Castro, with whom he signed a memorandum of cooperation in health, and had a meeting with historic leader Fidel Castro. Cuba was one of the first countries to recognize the new Iranian republic born after the Islamic Revolution of 1979.