Bolivian President Evo Morales.
Bolivia, Latin America: Week in Review

Evo Morales Visits Iran To Boost Ties And Promote Investment

October 26, 2010 By Staff

Bolivian President Evo Morales.

Today in Latin America

Top Story — Bolivian President Evo Morales was in Tehran on Monday for a three-day visit in which he hoped to secure Iranian investment in the Andean nation.

Morales, who arrived late Sunday evening in the Iranian capital, is holding talks with his counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about expanding bilateral relations, especially in the fields of trade and industry.

“Iran and Bolivia have identical revolutionary conscience which allows for the expansion of relations and accounts for the closeness of the two states,” Morales said, according to Press TV.

The two governments are expected to discuss Iranian investment in Bolivia’s minerals and textiles sectors and to sign agreements covering technology transfers, industrial machinery, cement production and food.

This is Morales’ second visit to Iran in as many years and comes less than two months after Tehran extended a credit line worth over $250 million as development aid to Bolivia.

The loan comes with no restrictions, but Iran’s minister of industries and mining, Ali Akbar Mehrabian, said it could be used to fund mineral exploration as well as develop Bolivia’s textile industry.

Morales, like his Venezuelan ally Hugo Chávez, has developed strong ties with Iran. For his part, in 2007 Ahmadinejad became to first Iranian president to visit Bolivia.

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Image: Daniel Samper @ Flickr.

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1 Comment

cubana 1960 says:

“Identical revolutionary consciousness”! It just can not be enough that the government of a country intensely hates the USA for it to become your ally. Where’s the revolutionary consciousness of Iran ,of a culture, a government, that brutalizes its women all in the name of “god”? Or is the revolution about class consciousness but gender inequality?

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