Iranian private sector has called on Iran-Vietnam Joint Chamber of Commerce to help raise the bilateral trade volume to $2bn.
“Iranian and Vietnamese authorities have set objectives to develop their bilateral economic ties, based on which trade volume should reach two billion dollars,” said Mohammad Reza Karbasi, Deputy for International Affairs at Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA).
He was addressing the newly-formed Iran-Vietnam Joint Chamber of Commerce on Monday.
He expressed regret that trade exchanges between the two Asian countries have seen a downward trend due to the unilateral US sanctions.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani visited Vietnam in 2016 in a bid to strengthen mutual relations between the two countries.
“Trade volume between Iran and Vietnam decreased 50% in last Iranian year 1397 (to 20 March 2019),” Karbasi noted, asking the joint chamber to make efforts to raise economic cooperation between the two.
The Iranian exports to Vietnam fell nearly 50% in value and more than 43% in weight during the last Iranian year 1397 (to 20 March, 2019) in comparison to a year before that, according to the latest statistics published by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).
Iran exported more than 202 million tons of goods and commodities to Vietnam, worth 367,640,648 dollars last Iranian year, showing a decline of 49.39% compared to the Iranian year 1396.
At the same, imports from the Asian country declined more than 42% in value and over 35% in weight during the same period, IRICA figures show.
Iran imported 45,740,433 dollars weighing 18,503,210, that shows a fall of 42.60% and 35.35% in value and weight represectively, according to the stats.
The decline in annual trade volume between Tehran and Hanoi comes after the US withdraw the 2015 nuclear deal and reestablished economic sanctions on Iranian oil and banking sectors, cutting off practically Iran’s banking relations with the outside world.
Despite the negative figures, Iran had a trade surplus of $140,305,881 with Vietnam.
Vietnam has also signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Eurasian Economic Union that has signed the same deal with Iran, expected to enter into force in the coming months. “This can help bring our economies closer to each other,” said Karbasi.
Le Ba Ngoc Vietnam Embassy trade representative in Iran said the 240-million-dollar trade volume between with Iran is far from the set objectives, calling on the joint chamber of commerce to help increase it.
Earlier, the official had announced that a business delegation from the South East Asian country, including representatives from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), will visit Iran in near future.