BEIRUT: Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil signed three agreements Friday to boost relations with Venezuela, praising the socialist nation for standing by Lebanon during the 2006 war with Israel.
Bassil meet with his Venezuelan counterpart Delcy Rodriguez Friday and signed a memorandum of understanding, a joint cooperation agreement and an agreement on visa exemptions for diplomatic, service and special passports.
“The agreements that were signed reflect ongoing political cooperation between the two countries,” Bassil said in a statement released by his media office Saturday. “But it is more than just cooperation - it is a mutual understanding of international affairs.”
The agreements were signed one day after the same passport exemption deal was signed by Bassil and his Colombian counterpart Maria Angela Holguin in Bogota.
Bassil expressed gratitude for Venezuela’s support for Lebanon during the 2006 war with Israel, saying that the sympathetic stance “reminds us of a national and Arab conscience.”
“Our primary cause is the Palestinian cause,” Bassil said.
During the 2006 war with Israel, then-President Hugo Chavez recalled Venezuela's charge d'affaires to Tel Aviv and described the United States as a terrorist nation for supporting Israel.
The Israeli government responded by recalling the Israeli ambassador to Venezuela as Chavez went on comparing Israel’s assault on Lebanese and Palestinians with the Holocaust.
Venezuela completely cut off diplomatic ties with Israel during its 2008-2009 assault on Gaza which killed around 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians.
Venezuela was the fifth and final leg of Bassil’s tour of Latin America launched one week ago.
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