By Senabri Silvestre

SANTO DOMINGO, Dom. Rep.

Iran’s top diplomat on Wednesday offered Ecuador a credit line of $100 million for the reconstruction of areas affected by an earthquake earlier this year.

Mohammad Javad Zarif announced the deal during a joint press conference with Ecuadoran officials while in the South American country that was devastated by a magnitude-7.8 tremor that killed nearly 300 victims in April.

Zarif’s host counterpart, Guillaume Long, said the credit line could be used in different areas, such as science, technology and research.

“We are very admirers of Iran in technological, scientific and biotechnology areas ... where it has progress,” he said.

Zarif also announced two agricultural and banking agreements between the two nations.

"We have had very fruitful discussions on bilateral trade areas with both public and public sector," said Zarif, who attended the Ecuador-Iran Economic and Trade’s Forum as part of his official tour for six Latin American countries in an attempt to strengthen cooperation and trade in the region.

He also met with Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and discussed the common interest of both countries in stabilizing oil prices, as OPEC members.

Prior to visiting Ecuador, Zarif visited Nicaragua and Cuba accompanied by a large delegation of officials and businessmen from different sectors. He also plans to go to Chile, Bolivia and Venezuela.