President Raeisi: Iran always backed independence demands of LATAM nations

 Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi said that Iran has always supported the independence and freedom-seeking spirit of Latin American nations.

He made the remarks in his meeting with Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Keith Rowley on the sidelines of the 6th Summit of Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in the Qatari capital Doha on Monday evening.

Expressing Iran’s interest in expanding relations with Trinidad and Tobago, especially in the field of exploitation of oil and gas resources, Raeisi said, “At a time when the enemy wanted to shut down Iran’s oil industry by imposing sanctions and pressure, Ministry of Oil and Iranian oil and gas sector actors were able to achieve a high level of technical knowledge and capabilities despite the enemy’s wishes, which results in the growth of our country’s oil and gas industry”.

Iran is ready to transfer its experiences to Trinidad and Tobago in relevant fields, he said, adding that Iran has a special program to expand economic and political relations and interactions with all countries in the world including Latin America. In this regard, we are interested in improving the level of our relations with Trinidad and Tobago.”

Referring to the remarks of Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago about the country’s technical and trade interactions and cooperation being affected by US sanctions against other Latin American countries, Raeisi said, “This is evidence of US oppression and imperialism, which includes countries with whom they have normal relations with.”

The 43-year experience of Islamic Republic has proved that anyone who resists against oppression can certainly exercise their rights, he added. 

Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, for his part, pointed out that his country has a significant amount of hydrocarbon resources and is ready to expand its cooperation and relations with Iran like Venezuela and Cuba.

“After independence from the United Kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago focused on developing their oil and gas industries, and today our national oil and gas companies have good capabilities, but international companies still have an effective presence in our oil and gas industries,” he added.

“We have tried to diversify our cooperation and economic partners more than before and are interested in benefiting from Iran’s experience and capabilities in the field of oil and gas,” he said.