Iran and Vietnam are considering signing a preferential trade agreement in order to boost mutual trade to a new level of $2 billion.
Speaking at a Iran-Vietnam business forum, deputy for international affairs of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) said that the two countries are determined to strengthen economic relations along with their political ties.
“Vietnam is a member of ASEAN and Iran is an ECO member, while both countries have major trade agreements with the Eurasian Economic Agreement. So the two sides have enough potentials to help each other boost foreign trade,” Mohammad Reza Karbasi said at the meeting.
Pointing to the fact that the volume of trade between Iran and Vietnam decreased by 30 percent last year, Karbasi noted that the two sides should take necessary measures to facilitate mutual trade.
Facilitating visa issuance for Iranian businessmen by the Vietnamese Embassy in Tehran and setting the stage for signing the preferential trade agreement and reaching a level of up to $2 billion of bilateral trade were the main issues explored by the two countries’ private sector representatives present at the forum.
Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quok Dawn and the country’s ambassador to Tehran Nguyen Yen were also present at the meeting.
“There is a high level of political will for expansion of cooperation between Iran and Vietnam, so in practice the current barriers must be removed in order for the volume of trade to reach the $2 billion goal,” the Vietnamese minister said.
The two sides also underlined barter trade as a proper solution for tackling the banking problems between the two countries.
Iranian and Vietnamese business people held B2B meetings at the end of the forum.
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