Maduro, Iran FM Discuss Defense Against 'External Pressures'

This handout picture released by Miraflores Palace press office shows Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (R) speaking with Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L) during a meeting at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on February 3, 2023. (Photo by JHONN ZERPA / Miraflores press office / AFP)
This handout picture released by Miraflores Palace press office shows Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (R) speaking with Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L) during a meeting at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on February 3, 2023. (Photo by JHONN ZERPA / Miraflores press office / AFP)
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Maduro, Iran FM Discuss Defense Against 'External Pressures'

This handout picture released by Miraflores Palace press office shows Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (R) speaking with Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L) during a meeting at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on February 3, 2023. (Photo by JHONN ZERPA / Miraflores press office / AFP)
This handout picture released by Miraflores Palace press office shows Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (R) speaking with Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L) during a meeting at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on February 3, 2023. (Photo by JHONN ZERPA / Miraflores press office / AFP)

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the visiting Iranian foreign minister discussed the need for "vigilance in defending their national interests against external pressures," according to a statement released Saturday.

The Caracas visit Friday by Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian underlined the strength of an alliance between two countries seen as outcasts by much of the international community, both of them subject to US sanctions.

Maduro received Abdollahian on Friday evening in the Miraflores presidential palace after the Iranian minister arrived from Managua, Nicaragua.

"I am sure that our relations will continue to strengthen for technological, industrial, scientific and cultural exchanges that benefit both peoples," Maduro wrote on Twitter, calling the meeting "productive."

On a visit to Tehran last June, Maduro signed a 20-year pact which he said opened "major fronts" for cooperation in the petroleum, petrochemical and defense sectors.

On Friday, the two parties "emphasized the strengthening and monitoring of projects and accelerating their implementation, as well as vigilance in defending their national interests against external pressures," a statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.

"The parties also welcomed the increase in relations and exchange of views between the officials of the two countries," AFP quoted it as saying.



Japan's Emperor Begins a Weeklong Visit to Mongolia that will Honor POWs

President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China Jens Eskelund talks during a press conference for the latest report on European companies in China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)
President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China Jens Eskelund talks during a press conference for the latest report on European companies in China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)
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Japan's Emperor Begins a Weeklong Visit to Mongolia that will Honor POWs

President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China Jens Eskelund talks during a press conference for the latest report on European companies in China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)
President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China Jens Eskelund talks during a press conference for the latest report on European companies in China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)

Japan’s Emperor Naruhito began a weeklong visit to Mongolia on Sunday during which he plans to honor thousands of Japanese prisoners of World War II who were held under harsh conditions in the country.

Naruhito's visit marks the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII. In recent years, he has toured some of the places where the bloodiest battles and bombings occurred, including Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Hiroshima. The emperor has said it's part of his effort at atonement and remembrance of the tragedy of war fought in the name of his grandfather, Emperor Hirohito, The AP news reported.

While the vast majority of Japanese soldiers were taken to Siberia, around 12,000 to 14,000 ended up in Mongolia, which was fighting alongside the Soviets against Japan.

Most of the POWs were put to hard labor and construction work for the Mongolian government’s headquarters, a state university and a theater that are still preserved in the capital Ulaanbaatar. The prisoners toiled under harsh conditions and scarce food. Japanese records show about 1,700 of them died in Mongolia.

“As we mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the war this year, we should never forget the pain and sorrow of the people,” Naruhito said last week. “I believe it is important to not forget those who died, deepen understanding of the wartime past and to nurture the peace-loving heart.”

Naruhito and Masako were scheduled to meet Mongolia's President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh and his wife. The couple will also attend the opening ceremony of Naadam, Mongolia’s annual festival that focuses on three traditional games of horseracing, wrestling and archery.

Naruhito had previously visited Mongolia as crown prince in 2007.