Tehran, July 5, IRNA

IRI President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a message Wednesday to his Venezuelan counterpart President Hugo Chavez congratulated anniversary of Venezuelan Independence Day to him and to Venezuelan government and nation.

According to IRNA, President Ahmadinejad's message reads, "Dear esteemed brother, President of Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Hugo Chavez Rafael Ferias; I would like to convey my most sincere congratulations on the occasion of the anniversary of Venezuela's independence to your honor, and the Venezuelan nation and government."

The message continues, "Beyond doubt, the victory of the Venezuelan nation in achieving independence is in line with materializing the ideals of the oppressed Latin American nations, and makes happy the entire freedom seekers around the globe."

President Ahmadinejad adds, "Keeping in mind that focusing on South-South cooperation is among the fundamentals of the Islamic Republic of Iran's foreign policy, strengthening and fortifying our bilateral ties and turning them into a model for the South-South cooperation for the other countries is among our defined objectives. Therefore, the establishment of multilateral unions with other south countries can put on display a new chapter on public participation in the international field."

He has expressed hope that relying on joint efforts the two sides would be witnesses to ever more expansion of brotherly and strategic ties between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in line with securing the interests of the two revolutionary nations in entire fields.

The Iranian political leader has emphasized in the message, "Support and backing up of the friend and brother countries for each other against the challenges and the created obstacles by the oppressors in the way of the free nations' advancement is surely very precious."

The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran has at the end of his message prayed to Almighty God for success of President Chavez, and for ever increasing deepening of friendship ties between the two great nations, as well as full health and prosperity of the noble Venezuelan government and nation.

Iran-Venezuela relations have strengthened substantially in recent years. The current presidents of Venezuela and Iran, President Hugo Chavez and President Ahmadinejad, respectively, have both described themselves on the world stage as opposed to 'US imperialism'. Citing this commonality of opinion, they regard each other as allies, and they have embarked on a number of initiatives together. For example, on January 6, 2007, the two announced that they would use some money from a previously-announced $2bn joint fund to invest in other countries that were 'attempting to liberate themselves from the imperialist yoke', in Chavez's words. The two presidents declared an 'axis of unity' against 'US imperialism'.

President Chavez has developed strong ties with the government of Iran, in particular in the area of energy production, economic, and industrial cooperation. He has visited Iran on several occasions, the first time in 2001, when he declared that he came to Iran to 'prepare the road for peace, justice, stability and progress for the 21st century'. Former Iranian president Mohamed Khatami, too, had visited Venezuela on three occasions. During his 2005 visit, Chavez awarded him the Orden del Libertador and called him a 'tireless fighter for all the right causes in the world'. In May 2006, Chavez expressed his favorable view of the production of nuclear energy in Iran announced by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and denied that they had plans to develop atomic weapons. His relationship with Iran and his support of their nuclear program has created concern for the US administration.

Chavez paid a two-day visit to Iran when the government faced international criticism for continuing its nuclear program and backing the Lebanese Hezbollah. On Chavez's birthday, July 28, the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad presented Chavez with Iran's highest honor for 'supporting Tehran in its nuclear standoff with the international community'.

Chavez pledged that Venezuela would 'stay by Iran at any time and under any condition.' He said 'We are with you and with Iran forever. As long as we remain united we will be able to defeat (US) imperialism, but if we are divided they will push us aside'.

Chavez also told a crowd at the University of Tehran, 'If the US Empire succeeds in consolidating its dominance, then the humankind has no future. Therefore, we have to save the humankind and put an end to the US Empire'. The report adds that Chavez also slashed out at Israel and labeled the 2006 Lebanon offensive as 'fascist and terrorist.'

Courtesy: Wikipedia for the background on the two countries relations

© IRNA 2012