A joint statement was issued by the presidents of Iran and Bolivia concluding the trip of Evo Morales to Tehran where the two sides emphasized expansion of bilateral relations in various areas.
The full text of the Joint Statement released by the Islamic Republic of Iran and Bolivia is as follows:
In the Name of God
On the occasion of His Excellency President of the multi-national government of Bolivia Evo Morales Ayma’s trip to Tehran on October 23 and 24, 2015 and based on his negotiations with His Excellency President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani to cement ties, the sides, believing in convergence, complementing each other, integrity and cooperation between Iran and Bolivia, and in the framework of common interests and friendship that unites each other’s states and nations, discussed different issues of bilateral, regional, and multilateral relations and reached the following agreements:
1- Both sides expressed satisfaction on the very good political relations and stressed the need to develop economic, cultural, scientific, and educational cooperation.
2- Similarly, both sides expressed their satisfaction over developments gained in bilateral cooperation projects, especially in the area of health and called for cementing and developing cooperation of the kind.
3- Both countries expressed mutual willingness in the area of developing cooperation leading to the transfer of technology and establishment of capabilities in areas of alternative energy, sustainable water management, medicine, agriculture, hydrocarbons, nanotechnology, and etc.
4- Both sides underlined establishing swift cooperation in banking and signing basic economic agreements including encouragement and mutual protection of investments, avoidance of double taxation and customs cooperation which lay the ground for more development and expansion of ties, especially with regard to the lift of unjust banking and financial sanctions by implementing JCPOA.
5- Both countries expressed satisfaction over holding the First Meeting of Joint Committee on Fight against Narcotics in Tehran on February 26, 2013, stressed their mutual commitment for cooperation in this area to fight with this global crisis, and agreed that the next meeting of this committee be held in Bolivia in the near future. In the same regard, both focused on the last UN report on this issue, in which the Bolivian government’s efforts for considerably decreasing the surplus coca leaf cultivation was stressed.
6- Both sides stressed their country’s commitment on principles and aims of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and focused on the issue that this Movement is a proper place for reflecting their interests and priorities.
7- The Iranian delegation focused on the report by the President of Bolivia which was based on the importance of regional convergence organizations in Latin America, especially ALBA, UNASUR, MERCOSUR, and CELAC, and welcomed Bolivia’s membership in MERCOSUR, as well as its nomination for interim presidency of the Union of CELAC in 2017.
8- President of Bolivia also expressed the congratulations of the government and nation of Bolivia because of the negotiations and Iran’s prominent agreement with the 5+1 which is based on the basic principles of international law and sovereignty and desires of countries to resolve disputes through peaceful ways.
9- Both sides focused on the importance of Group of 77 Developing Countries + China which was held on June 2014 in Bolivia and stressed the role of South-South cooperation as a prominent mechanism for reaching the development of the nations in this area.
10- Both sides condemned the terrorist crimes in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and the killing of innocent Yemenis as well as some countries’ support of terrorist groups. Both presidents stressed that terrorism and extremism is a threat to global peace and security and called for an end to the implementation of double-standards in the fight against terrorism by some countries.
11- Both sides expressed their support for each other’s candidacy in international organizations, especially Iran and Bolivia’s candidacy to join United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
12- The Bolivian delegation stated that this country has included the UN Statement, the OIT 169 Agreement, as well as other international documents related to human rights and the rights of collective groups in its constitution, upgrading it to level one law and outlined the progress made in protecting the rights of indigenous people.
13- Similarly, the Bolivian delegation reported on the progress made in the meetings of the ‘Intergovernmental Working Group on a United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas.’
14- Regarding Bolivia’s call for having access to sea, both presidents expressed hope that Bolivia and Chili reach a peaceful solution through discussion.
At the end of his trip, the Bolivian President Evo Morales Ayma expressed gratitude to the authorities and the people of Iran for their hospitality and invited the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran to have an official trip to Bolivia.
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