| Venezuela is playing a leading role in the international fight against imperialism, a Greek official has said. A high ranking Greek government figure has praised President Nicolas Maduro's government for its support, Venezuelan state media reported Friday. “Venezuela is a symbol of resistance to imperialism,” said Giorgos Tsipras, the Greek foreign ministry's secretary general for international economic relations. Tsipras said the Greek people feel a close affinity to the peoples of Latin America, including Venezuela. “We have so many things in common,” he said, praising the region for its fight against imperialism. The comments were made during Tsipras' visit to Caracas to boost economic ties with Maduro's government. According to a statement from Greece's foreign ministry, the visit is intended to “promote bilateral economic relations, with particular emphasis on the energy sector.” Since arriving in Venezuela on Tuesday, Tsipras has held high level talks with senior Venezuelan economic officials, including the Vice Minister for Economic Cooperation Calixto Ortega. Tsipras' trip followed a Venezuelan diplomatic visit to Athens in March. During that visit, the two parties discussed furthering a number of cooperation agreements, particularly in technology, industry, trade, shipping, energy, commerce and tourism. They were also joined by Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzia and the Venezuelan Ambassador to Greece Farid Fernandez in the discussions. Then earlier this month, Maduro issued a statement in solidarity with Greece against international creditors. “I would like to officially express solidarity to Prime Minister Tsipras and to the Greek people on behalf of Venezuela,” Maduro stated during his weekly television program. “The Greek people have known about democracy for over 2000 years and the Greek people are going to respond with democracy,” Maduro stated. |