TEHRAN – President Ebrahim Raisi says Iran favors expanding its cooperation with Cuba through drawing on the “diverse capacities” that exist in each country.
The president described Iran and Cuba’s ties as “strategic” in nature, saying those capacities have to be used towards expansion of the mutual cooperation “in the commercial, economic, agricultural, healthcare, and medical areas.”
“Iran and Cuba’s positive and constructive relations can be extrapolated to the area of the countries’ international interaction too,” Raisi told Cuba’s visiting Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas in Tehran.
The Iranian president made special references to the countries’ successful cooperation in the healthcare area.
In January 2021, Iran and Cuba signed an agreement to cooperate on a coronavirus vaccine project amid crippling sanctions imposed on the two countries by the administration of former United States President Donald Trump.
The cooperation led to the development of the Pastu Covac vaccine, which has been successfully used against several mutations of the highly infectious virus.
“By relying on their domestic potential, Iran and Cuba can reach self-sufficiency in various areas and production of strategic products,” Raisi said.
He touched on existing areas and potentials of cooperation with Latin American countries, saying “Iran intends to develop its relations with independent countries that resist the global arrogance’s excessive demands, including Cuba.”

The Cuban official, for his part, described mutual ties as “deep and strategic” in nature, underlining Havana’s will to develop its economic and commercial relationship with Tehran.
He also called for the implementation of “medium-term and long-term” projects that would enhance mutual relations to the level of “multilateral relations across the Latin American region.”
Separately, President Raisi said the most important factor that can strengthen regional security is the existence of constructive relations between neighboring countries.
He made the remarks in a Thursday meeting with Azerbaijan’s First Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Abdulla Oghlu Mustafayev in Tehran.
During the meeting, Raisi highlighted Iran’s “principled position” on supporting the unity and territorial integrity of all countries, including the neighboring Republic of Azerbaijan.
“The existence of constructive relations on the basis of mutual interests between neighboring countries, including Iran and Azerbaijan, is the most effective factor in maintaining and bolstering the regional security,” Iran’s president said.
He added that the United States and the Zionist regime are not sympathetic toward regional countries and other nations across the world.
Noting that Iran welcomes all-out expansion of economic, political, cultural and trade ties with Azerbaijan, Raisi called for complete implementation of agreements between Tehran and Baku in various fields, especially economy and transit.
“Iran and Azerbaijan are more than mere neighbors as they share the same religion and the same culture.... No factor must be allowed to harm the two countries’ friendly relations,” the president said.
Mustafayev, for his part, underlined that the Republic of Azerbaijan is persistently pursuing the implementation of agreements between the two countries.
The Azeri official added that new plans are being drawn up to implement new rail, road and transit projects with the aim of developing relations between the two neighbors.
The relations between Iran and Azerbaijan, he said, have progressed and developed in all sectors.