Owji pointed to President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to Venezuela on Tuesday, adding the agreements signed a day earlier were significant for the two countries’ oil industries.
“There is good capacity and potential in trade with Venezuela because this country has four refineries with a capacity of 1.4 million barrels of oil, but this capacity went unnoticed due to the embargo and the exit of specialized forces,” said Owji, who is accompanying Raisi during his tour of sanctions-hit South American states.
The Raisi administration, Owji added, resumed efforts to broaden energy and trade ties with Venezuela, and so far, more than 2.8 million refinery units have been exported through Iranian manufacturers and contractors.
At a joint presser with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday, Raisi said the value of trade between Iran and Venezuela can increase to $10 billion in the first step and to $20 billion in the second step.
The two countries signed 19 agreements for cooperation in a variety of areas including energy, agriculture, mining and transportation.
Raisi’s tour will also take him to Nicaragua and Cuba.
