Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich Tokayev landed in Tehran on 19 June with a high-ranking delegation to meet with Iranian President Sayyed Ebrahim Raisi.

The two sides signed nine cooperation documents and a memoranda of understanding, with the aim of increasing annual trade between the two nations to $3 billion.

The deals will expand bilateral cooperation between the ministries of both countries, as well as advance trade and cooperation in the oil and gas industries, and in agriculture, transportation and energy.

“Cooperation with neighbors in the Caspian Sea is a priority for the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Raisi said. “We share a view that the presence of outsiders in the region would not create security or solve problems in the region.”

Raisi noted that bilateral trade between Iran and Kazakhstan has risen by over 50 percent in the past few months.

The visit by President Tokayev comes shortly after the visits of the foreign minister of Pakistan, and the presidents of Venezuela and Turkmenistan.

On 15 June, Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedow met with both the Iranian president and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei. A high-ranking Turkmen delegation joined the visit for the signing of cooperation agreements.

On 14 June, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited Tehran to discuss cooperation in energy and electricity, as well as in assisting Afghanistan to form an inclusive and stable government.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrived in the capital of the Islamic Republic on 11 June to hold high-level meetings with President Raisi and Ayatollah Khamenei.

Khamenei praised the Venezuelan people for their victory against the hybrid war of Washington, saying: “Your resistance and that of the people of Venezuela is important because it enhances the value, status and merits of the nation … as well as its leaders.”

The Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) also recently signed a trade agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in St Petersburg, Russia.

Revenue from Iran’s oil exports went up by 60 percent since the start of the new Iranian calendar year, despite US sanctions.

The rise in oil exports were the result of a policy shift by President Raisi in planning for the success of the Iranian economy.

According to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the economic roadmap written by Tehran is designed to anticipate growth and success independently of the outcomes of the negotiations to revive the 2015 nuclear deal currently taking place in Vienna.

In a speech commemorating the 43rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution on 11 February, Raisi said his administration’s foreign policy is built on balance, while implicitly condemning previous “look west” policies that have “caused imbalance in the country.”

“We must pay close attention to all countries, particularly our neighbors. But we have hope in God and in the people, which we never had in Vienna or New York,” he stated.