President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) says Tehran and Bratislava enjoy warm political relations, however, their trade ties are not on par with that.
“Despite the economic potentials that exist between Iran and Slovakia, the volume of trade and the level of economic exchanges have not been developed along with political relations between the two nations,” Gholam Hossein Shafei said in a meeting with Slovak Ambassador to Tehran Ladislav Ballek.
Referring to the establishment of the Iran-Slovakia Joint Trade Committee at the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Shafei expressed hope that the committee would lead to the development of relations between the two countries.
Shafei named the Slovak Republic as Iran's gateway to Europe, adding that the European country could reach the 400-million markets of neighboring countries through Iran.
The Iran Chamber of Commerce is eagerly ready to take steps to develop economic relations between the two countries, Shafei said.
Jabbar Kianipour, the chairman of the Iran-Slovakia Joint Trade Committee, explained the hurdles on the way of trade between the two countries and asked for resolving problems with issuance of visas, renewal of residence cards and blockade of banking accounts in Slovakia.
The best trade volume between Iran and Slovakia was recorded in 2018, however, sanctions hampered bilateral trade relations, Slovak Ambassador to Tehran Ladislav Ballek said.
Ballek said that Slovakia would be one of the first countries to begin its economic relations with Iran as soon as US sanctions are lifted.