TEHRAN, July 1, SPA -- Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said Sunday that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's visit to the country would further strengthen relations between the two nations. «Political interests and close regional and internationalstances are among the important factors that help tocontinue this cooperation, closely,» spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini Hosseini told reporters Sunday during his weekly press conference. Chavez arrived in Iran on Saturday as part of athree-nation tour after stops in Russia and Belarus, and isscheduled to meet with Iranian leaders, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. His visit is the third to Iran in the past two years and the sixth since he came to power. Hosseini said Iran and Venezuela would sign some 20memorandums of understanding in different fields duringChavez's visit, although he did not provide furtherdetails. Iran's state-run television said the two countries wouldsign agreements on the construction of a 7,000-unit housing project and an artisan school, both in Venezuela. Iran has partnered with Venezuela on several jointindustrial projects in the South American nation, includingthe production of cars, tractors and plastic goods, thetelevision added. --SPA www.spa.gov.sa/463770