President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Gholam Hossein Shafei says barter trade between Iran and Vietnam has to be enhanced so as to thwart banking obstacles on the way of trade exchanges.
Shafei made the remarks in a meeting in Tehran on Monday with Vietnamese ambassador to Iran Luong Quoc Huy.
There is huge capacity for more increased trade between Iran and Vietnam in different areas, Shafei said, regretting that major hurdles are impeding the fulfilment of further exchanges.
The Iran Chamber of Commerce president said that financial-banking problems as well as transportation problems are two main obstacles on the way of Iran-Vietnam relations. He, however, noted that the two countries have large capacities for barter trade, especially in the agricultural sector.
“We need tropical fruits and rice while Vietnam needs Iranian products such as apple, pomegranate and other agricultural products.”
Shafei said that the Iran Chamber of Commerce will provide any possible support for expansion of economic relations between Tehran and Hanoi.
He also stressed the need for easing visa requirements and facilitating the commuting of businesspeople between the two countries.
The Vietnamese ambassador, for his part, voiced the embassy’s readiness to do the necessary measures to help deepen ties between Iran and Vietnam.
Ambassador Luong Quoc Huy said that Iran is Vietnam’s key trade ally in the Middle East, noting that Hanoi looks at Iran as its gateway to the region.
He said that Vietnam is also a main partner of Iran in the Southeast Asia. The ambassador regretted that the annual trade turnover of the two counties is though as few as $100 million.
He also noted that Vietnam does not have enough experience in barter trade and would need to do more study in this regard and take information from Iran.
The ambassador called on the president of Iran Chamber of Commerce to identify Iranian businesspersons eager to do business with Vietnam in different food and agricultural areas and introduce them to the Vietnamese embassy in Tehran so that they will be introduced to Vietnamese partners.
He said that the embassy is ready to ease visa requirements for Iranian businesspersons, adding that the issuance of visa would be accelerated for the businesspeople with a letter of introduction from Iran Chamber of Commerce.