TODAY NICARAGUA (Confidencial) Before leaving Nicaragua to continue his tour of Cuba, the president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisí, pointed out to the Nicaraguan dictators, Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, that it is “very important” to consolidate the integration of Latin American countries with other regions of the world to “neutralize the sanctions imposed” by the “imperialist powers”.
The Iranian president emphasized that “independent countries”, as he called his political allies, must “take advantage of their mutual capabilities” and appreciated that “the unity and integration of Latin American countries with countries from other regions of the world would help, both to consolidate integration as to neutralize the sanctions”.
He assured that his country, despite the sanctions imposed by the United States and the West, has made great advances in technology and is willing to share its experiences “with friendly and brother countries” such as Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela.
He emphasized that his visit to Latin America is a sign of Iran’s willingness to strengthen relations with this region and highlighted the signing of a series of cooperation agreements in the fields of technology, science and medicine.
Three agreements signed with Nicaragua
Ortega, for his part, stressed that the visit of the Iranian delegation allowed the signing of three base memorandums. “The first has to do with the creation of the Mixed Intergovernmental Commission for Economic, Commercial Cooperation and Scientific-Technical Exchange,” Ortega said.
The second memorandum is related “to the issue of powers of justice” and the third “is related to medicines, laboratory and pharmaceutical medical equipment and supplies between the Ministry of Health and Medical Education of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Ministry of Health of Nicaragua,” he added.
The Nicaraguan dictator also emphasized the creation of a minute to exchange information and chart the path to establish a Free Trade Agreement.
“Here we are already talking about a result of this visit of yours that encourages and strengthens relations between our peoples and governments,” Ortega told his Iranian counterpart.
“Protect yourself and become immune”
Earlier, in a courtesy visit to the National Assembly of Nicaragua, Raisí proposed exchanging “capacities” between “independent countries” in order to “protect themselves and become immune to the conspiracies and plans of imperialism”, which he considered “a common enemy”.
The Iranian president met with the board of directors of the Legislative Branch and later had the courtesy to address the plenary of the Assembly.
Iran in its foreign policy “has had and will have good relations with independent countries and countries that seek to enforce the will of their peoples,” Raisí warned. Despite the distance between Latin America and the Middle East, there is a lot of “closeness between the two peoples,” he said.
For the Iranian president, Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezuela and Iran have “close objectives” and “our wills and our paths are also close.” It is for this reason that “we have the will and willingness to further increase and promote these relations,” he stressed.
He added that “there are many potentialities in Latin America, especially in Nicaragua, Iran also has many potentialities and we are willing to share capabilities and experience with the brother and friendly people of Nicaragua.”
He emphasized that “communication and constant contact between independent countries” are elements that can “strengthen and further consolidate relations, economic ties and commercial exchanges” between both countries.
Attacking the US
The president of Iran also accused Washington of being against progressive governments and pointed out that “the main characteristic of world imperialism is that with its illegitimate demands and with its colonialism it always seeks to abuse and exploit the peoples and is always against the fulfillment of the will of the peoples”.
In this sense, he said that Iran and Nicaragua share a common history of struggle, resistance, revolutions and combat against a common enemy.
“And the history and common experience that both peoples have is resistance and respect for the popular vote and putting aside the will of the enemies to try to fulfill popular democracy and fight against the conspiracies and plots of our enemies in these 44 years of revolution,” he said.
He assured that “in this field of battles, of wills, there are two wills”, one is the “will of our peoples who seek their independence, their freedom, justice and fulfill their faith in God, and (the) other will is the of the enemies of imperialism that seeks to fulfill its desires, its objectives, its plans and its benefits and all with the selfishness they have”.
Raisí arrived in Nicaragua on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 13, in the middle of a tour of Latin America that also includes Venezuela and Cuba. On the first day of his visit, he met with the Nicaraguan dictators, Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. He also held a series of private meetings and this Wednesday he resumes his tour to Havana.
The Iranian president is traveling with his wife, Dr. Jamileh Alamolhoda, as well as a large delegation from his country, made up of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Oil, Health, Culture, and Economic Diplomacy, who participated in a series of meetings with officials from the Nicaraguan regime.
Approach “not surprising,” says US
Meanwhile, US State Department spokesman Matt Miller said Wednesday that he is not surprised by Venezuela’s and Nicaragua’s rapprochement with Iran.
“We have been very clear about our concerns about Iran’s activities. I think it is not surprising that these countries have a diplomatic rapprochement,” Miller said at a press conference.
Washington does not have diplomatic relations with Tehran or with the Government of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, while the relationship with Nicaragua is at a minimum due to the repression of the Executive of Daniel Ortega against the opposition.
The Iranian president announced Tuesday in Managua that he will deepen his cooperation with Nicaragua in science and technology and other areas because relations with the country are “completely strategic.”
Previously, Raisí fulfilled a busy schedule in Caracas, which included the signing of more than 20 agreements in the petrochemical, transportation, mining and other areas, with which it is expected to multiply cooperation with Venezuela.
Iran maintains close ties with Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, cemented by their mutual opposition to the United States, which has imposed heavy sanctions on all of these nations.
*With information from Efe
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