Bogota, Nov. 12, (dpa/GNA) – Bolivia’s new President Luis Arce, a close confidant of former leftist president Evo Morales, restored ties with Iran and Venezuela just days after coming into office.
Arce said on Twitter that his government received the credentials of the Venezuelan ambassador to Bolivia and that he was restoring bilateral relations “to strengthen strategic ties for the good of our peoples.”
A couple of hours later the new president tweeted that his government also received the the credentials of the Iranian ambassador: “They are always welcome in Bolivia. We will continue to reinforce common projects for the benefit of our peoples.”
Arce was sworn in as Bolivia’s new head of state in La Paz on Sunday, a year after Morales was forced to resign due to pressure from the military after he was accused of election fraud in October 2019, although several studies have since come to a different conclusion.
After nearly 14 years in office, Morales was forced to leave the country as an interim government led by Jeanine Anez took over, which his supporters and allies in the region saw as a coup.
During her time in charge Anez took steps to move away from key alliances of the Morales government, including expelling all Venezuelan diplomats due to alleged interference in domestic issues.
Morales, the first indigenous head of state of the South American country, returned from exile in Argentina on Monday.
GNA