Iran’s President Ayatollah Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi has told Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley that his country is ready to exchange experiences in oil and gas exploration with T&T, while praising what he deemed the independence of Latin American countries against “oppression of imperialist countries”.
Dr Rowley met with the Iranian president on Monday at the Sixth Summit of the Gas Exporting Countries in Doha, Qatar.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported the freedom-seeking and independence-seeking demands of all the nations of the world against the oppression of imperialist countries,” Raisi told Dr Rowley, according to an article published by the official website of the Iranian government.
It said the president expressed Iran’s interest in expanding relations with Trinidad and Tobago, especially in the field of exploitation of oil and gas resources.
The President added, “At a time when the enemy wanted to shut down Iran’s oil industry by imposing sanctions and pressure, the 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.”
He said the Islamic Republic stands ready to exchange its experiences with Trinidad and Tobago.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, especially during the 13th government, has a special programme to expand economic and political relations and interactions with all countries, including Latin America. In this regard, we are interested in improving the level of our relations with your country,” Raisi said.
The article referred to the remarks by Dr Rowley about T&T’s technical and trade interactions and cooperation being affected by US sanctions against other Latin American countries.
“This is evidence of US oppression and imperialism, which includes countries with whom they have normal relations with,” Raisi said.
It goes on to quote Dr Rowley as saying that “Trinidad and Tobago seeks to expand its cooperation and relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, like Venezuela and Cuba.”
“We are interested in benefiting from Iran’s experience and capabilities in the field of oil and gas,” the article added.
Dr Rowley was due to host a news conference on his return from Qatar yesterday but was the Office the Prime Minister announced that his flight was delayed “indefinitely” in St Lucia.
