Tehran, Jan 4, IRNA – Energy Minister Majid Namjoo said here on Wednesday that Iran’s commercial ties with Latin American countries will expand following President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to the region.

Ahmadinejad will visit Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador on a five-day tour of Latin America at the head of a high-ranking political-economic delegation next week.

Namjoo, Iranian head of the Iran’s joint economic commissions with Ecuador and Nicaragua, made the statements at the end of a Cabinet session on Wednesday.

The minister who is to accompany Ahmadinejad during his visits added that several dam construction and energy projects will be reviewed during the trips.

One of the projects is the establishment of a hydraulic power station in Ecuador, he said, noting that Iran and China are severely competing to win the project.