The agreement, signed between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez in March 2009, will facilitate visits specially by Iranian traders and tourists to Venezuela, leading to the expansion of trade and cultural ties between Tehran and Caracas.

Venezuela is the third Latin American state lifting visa requirement for the Iranian nationals. Nicaragua and Ecuador took the same measure earlier.

Iran has moved to expand ties with Latin America in recent years and it has worked out an eye-catching number of economic, political and cultural agreements on mutual cooperation with what was formerly known as the US backyard. The move by Tehran which gained a much faster momentum under President Ahmadinejad has raised eyebrows in Washington.

Venezuelan Ambassador to Tehran had announced in December that over 300 agreements and contracts as well as 80 special projects have recently come into effect between the two countries.