Joint Bank With Venezuela http://iran-daily.com/1388/3364/html/index.htm President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (R) and his visiting Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez wave to reporters in Tehran. Compiled by Sadeq Dehqan
Expansion of economic ties between Iran and Venezuela entered a new phase on the third day of a visit to Tehran by President Hugo Chavez with the opening of an Iran-Venezuela Bank and fresh talks on promoting energy collaboration. The new bank was launched on Friday in the presence of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Chavez. The bank started its activities with an initial capital $1.2 billion. The two countries each have a 50 percent equity, Mehr News Agency reported. The Iran Export Promotion Bank upon authorization from the government, launched the bank on behalf of Iran that will offer financial resources for joint developmental projects. Since the bank is based in Iran it will abide by local banking regulations and the Central bank of Iran (CBI) will supervise its activities like all other local banks and major lending institutions. Based on an agreement, the bank can establish any number of representative offices in both countries, and if necessary in a third country. Some of the activities the bank will undertake include credits for exports and implementing investment projects in industrial, trade, housing and energy sectors. The seventh meeting of Iran-Venezuela Energy Committee opened on Friday in the presence of oil ministers of the two countries. In the meeting Iran’s Gholam Hossein Nozari and his Venezuelan counterpart, Rafael Romirez reviewed details of the topics discussed in the past six meetings and ways of handling problems in two-way energy cooperation. It is expected that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be concluded between the two ministers.
Obama Empire Chavez told reporters in Tehran thata “Coming to Tehran for us is like arriving at our own home.“ When asked about recent statements by US President Barack Obama that he is willing and able to improve ties with Iran, Chavez said it was too early for optimism. “I don’t have much hope because there is an empire behind him. He’s the president of an empire.“ However, he said: “I think it’s fair to give him some time,“ and hoped Obama would become the first leader of a “truly democratic“ United States.
Expanding Ties Tehran and Caracas on Thursday vowed to further strengthen ties and find common ways to cope with the global economic crisis. “A ten-year plan for the two countries’ ties as well as a plan to combat the global crisis will be drawn up in this visit,“ President Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying in a meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart. “Iran-Venezuela ties have introduced a common revolutionary front ... in the world,“ Ahmadinejad said, vowing the two countries will “continue to stand by each other“ in thick and thin, IRNA reported. Chavez arrived in Tehran on his sixth visit on Wednesday after attending an Arab-South American summit in Doha. He said the two countries should “further strengthen their trade cooperation.“ Chavez is a vocal supporter in Latin America of Iran and its nuclear program, which the West claims to be a cover for weapons development although Tehran insists it is purely peaceful. Venezuela expelled the ambassador of Iran’s arch-foe Israel from Caracas in January to protest the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip that left more than 1,300 Palestinians dead.
