Bulgarian and Iran chambers of commerce will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) this week in a bid to consolidate trade ties between the two countries' private sectors.
“A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed on Friday 19 April between Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA),” Bulgarian Ambassador to Iran Christo Polendakov said on Saturday.
He made the remark in a meeting with Mohammad Reza Karbasi, Deputy for International Affairs at Iran Chamber of Commerce.
A business delegation from Iran Chamber of Commerce, headed by Deputy ICCIMA Hossein Selah Varzi, will visit Bulgaria on Tuesday 16 April, Karbasi said.
“The delegation is set to visit Buglarian industrial facilities as well as hold a meeting with Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry president in Sofia," he noted.
Karbasi proposed in the meeting that Iran and Bulgari create joint transport firms in a bid to raise trade exchanges between the two countries. He also noted that a direct flight between Tehran and Sofia. Earlier, Bulgarian Deputy Tourism Minister Lyuben Kanchev had called for the launch of such flight between the two nations.
The Bulgarian envoy also stressed the need for banking ties that facilitate the trade, saying representatives from the Bulgarian Development Bank and other investment institutions will take part in the nineteenth Joint Economic Commission between Iran and Bulgaria that will take place in Sofia in the future.
“A corridor that connects the Caspian Sea with the Black Sea is part of the the [Chinese] Belt and Road Initiative. We hope it can serve as a new trade corridor between Iran and Bulgaria,” he added.
The Bulgarian representative said his embassy is considering opening consulates in the Iranian cities that have international airports and Foreign Ministry offices.