Iran, Cuba mull over building ships for South American states

Providing more details about the accomplishments of Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization in the last year, Ali-Akbar Safaei mentioned that the country invested 100 trillion tomans in the construction and infrastructure of ports, with 50 trillion tomans coming from government funds and 55 trillion tomans from private sector investments. Out of this investment, 13 trillion tomans is ready to be utilized.

Referring to Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi's emphasis on strengthening foreign trade with friendly countries, he added that the continued maritime transport interactions with Venezuela and other South American countries are always underway.

Safaei further stated that Iran's shipbuilding industry is globally renowned. For instance, Venezuela had ordered three ships of 90,000 tons, which were successfully built and delivered by Iran's skilled engineers.

He said that Iran and Cuba have held talks on ship construction, with the aim of utilizing domestic capacity to meet the needs of South American countries.

In terms of trade with Caspian Sea countries, he added that Iran achieved a record of 9 million tons, marking an impressive 30 percent growth, particularly with Russia and Kazakhstan.