Officials and businesspersons from Iran and Denmark, during a Joint Trade Committee, explored ways to promote cooperation on economic areas.
The committee convened in presence of Danish ambassador to Tehran Jesper Vahr, Head of Iran-Denmark Joint Committee Parham Rezaei, as well as representatives from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Trade Promotion Organization.
Speaking during the meeting, the head of Iran-Denmark Joint Committee referred to long years of relations between the two countries since 1691, and said, “although the re-imposition of US sanctions on Iran has reduced the trade volume, we have been witnessing that some Danish companies continued to remain in Iran despite the US exit from Iran deal (in 2018)”.
Rezaei said that Iran and Denmark can cooperate on different areas including, providing medical and pharmaceutical equipment, raw materials, renewable energies and machineries as well as food industries and providing access to the market of regional countries.
The Iranian officials present in the meeting expressed hope that trade relations between the two countries would further grow in the light of the efforts by the new Danish diplomatic team in Tehran.
The Danish ambassador, for his part, said that the visit to Iran by a trade delegation from his country in 2016 marked a turning point in expansion of cooperation between Iran and Denmark.
Vahr however noted that the re-imposition of sanctions on Tehran stopped the two countries from further promotion of trade relations.
He expressed hope that the problems on the way of JCPOA and the ratification of FATF bills would be solved soon so as to ease banking transactions between Iran and other countries.
“We, as much as the Iranian people, are interested in removing the obstacles as soon as possible so that more cooperation can take place.”
During a meeting with the President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture Gholam Hossein Shafei on August 1, the Danish ambassador said that his country has never supported the US “maximum pressure” on Iran and is waiting for the revival of JCPOA so that the doors of the Iranian economy would open again to all the countries, including Denmark.
Vahr said that he has repeatedly been witnessing the eagerness of the Confederation of Danish Industry for further cooperation with Iran.
He however said that such cooperation requires the revival of JCPOA.
The ambassador also expressed hope for ratification of FATF bills in Iran, noting that it can, along with the revival of JCPOA, facilitate further cooperation between the two countries.