President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) has voiced the readiness of the Iranian private sector for expansion of trade and cooperation with Vietnam despite tough Western sanctions on Tehran.
Hossein Selahvarzi was addressing an Iran-Vietnam Business Forum which was held in ICCIMA headquarters in Tehran on Wednesday.
The Business forum was participated by a 70-member delegation of Vietnamese businesspeople headed by the country’s National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ.
“The private sectors of the two countries have the duty to find out ways for strengthening the relationship and to provide their executive proposals to the governments to facilitate the access of the two sides to each other's markets,” Selahvarzi said.
Noting that the imposition of Western arbitrary sanctions have caused some banking and transportation problems for Iran in its international connections, he said that this challenge has also been impeding Iran’s relations with Vietnam.
The president of Iran Chamber of Commerce however said that Iran has good experiences in tackling the sanctions and can find proper ways for expansion of cooperation.
Iran enjoys high potentials in mining, agricultural, and food industries as well as in tourism and techno-engineering services which provides a good ground for cooperation with Vietnam, Selahvarzi said, adding that Vietnam, on the other hand, is the hub of producing electronic products and side industries.
He urged the governments of both countries to facilitate banking and investment regulations and ease visa requirements for the businesspeople of Iran and Vietnam.
The Vietnamese national assembly chairman, in the meantime, said that good agreements have been signed during his Tehran visit.
Noting that the officials of both countries provide all-out support for their economic activists, Huệ said that Iran has made great progress and the Iranian economy continues to thrive despite the harsh sanctions on the country.
He also referred to Iran’s geographical position, rich culture and high economic potentials as well as the great power of Vietnam in the East Asian region, which he said paves the way for economic cooperation between the two countries.
The Vietnamese national assembly chairman stressed the need for removing the obstacles on the way of reaching a $2 billion target for annual trade between Iran and Vietnam.
He said that a joint economic commission of the two countries is scheduled to convene in the near future where he said they will discuss a financial mechanism and barter trade.