Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said Sunday that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's visit to the country would further strengthen relations between the two nations. «Political interests and close regional and international stances are among the important factors that help to continue this cooperation, closely,» spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini Hosseini told reporters Sunday during his weekly press conference. Chavez arrived in Iran on Saturday as part of a three-nation tour after stops in Russia and Belarus, and is scheduled to meet with Iranian leaders, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. His visit is the third to Iran in the past two years and the sixth since he came to power. Hosseini said Iran and Venezuela would sign some 20 memorandums of understanding in different fields during Chavez's visit, although he did not provide further details. Iran's state-run television said the two countries would sign agreements on the construction of a 7,000-unit housing project and an artisan school, both in Venezuela. Iran has partnered with Venezuela on several joint industrial projects in the South American nation, including the production of cars, tractors and plastic goods, the television added.
