President Bashar al-Assad and Mrs. Asma al-Assad are due to begin early next week a tour of a number of Latin American countries: Venezuela, Cuba, Brazil and Argentina.

During this tour, President al-Assad will hold talks with Presidents and senior officials of these countries on bilateral relations and the developments in the Middle East and Latin America regions.

Several agreements will be signed during this tour to bolster political and economic cooperation between Syria and Latin American countries.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez visited Syria in 2006 and 2009 and held talks with President al-Assad. Many agreements and cooperation protocols in several domains were signed.

Cuban President Fidel Castro also visited Syria in May 2001 and held talks with President al-Assad on bilateral relations and importance of enhancing them at all levels.

President al-Assad held talks with his Brazilian counterpart Lula da Silva during da Silva's visit to Syria in December 2003. The discussion focused on cooperation between the two countries in all fields and in the international forums.

President al-Assad also discussed with Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Nunes de Amorim early in 2008 means of consolidating bilateral relations between the two countries in various fields.