Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will launch a six-nation tour of Latin America on Sunday to discuss the development of ties.
Heading a large politico-economic delegation, Zarif will leave for Cuba as the first leg of his official Latin America tour, which will also take him to Nicaragua, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia and Venezuela, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs Majid Takht-e-Ravanchi told reporters on Wednesday.
During his first visit to Latin America, the Iranian foreign minister aims to discuss the expansion of ties with the six countries following the implementation of last year’s nuclear agreement between Tehran and the P5+1 group of countries, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
More than 60 businessmen and heads of private sector companies will accompany Zarif in the one-week tour, which will open a “new chapter in the relations between Iran and Latin America,” Takht-e-Ravanchi stated.
“Latin America is of high significance to Iran and despite a long distance, there are many areas for cooperation between Iran and the countries of that region,” Takht-e-Ravanchi said.
He described relations between Iran and Latin American countries as friendly, and expressed hope that the upcoming visit by the Iranian foreign minister would lay the groundwork for further cooperation in different sectors, especially economy.
On January 16, Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia – plus Germany started implementing the JCPOA that they had clinched on July 14, 2015.
Under the nuclear agreement, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program in return for the termination of all nuclear-related sanctions against the Islamic Republic.