Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong has expressed
his hope that trade value between Vietnam and Iran will soon reach 2 billion
USD.
At a reception for Alaeddin Boroujerdi, Chairman of the National Security and
Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament on October 24, Cuong said the
ninth meeting of the Vietnam-Iran Committee on Economic and Commercial
Cooperation in July 15-16, 2017 affirmed that the two countries boast huge
potential for cooperation across fields.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), as head of
the Vietnam-Iran Friendship Cooperation Subcommittee, reported outcomes of the
meeting to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who later assigned specific tasks
to relevant agencies to improve the efficiency of cooperation in all spheres.
In the realm of agriculture, in August 2017, the ministry invited 30 Vietnamese
businesses to participate in a seminar on trade and investment promotion in the
Mideast, including Iran, Cuong said, adding that a number of enterprises will also
attend another trade promotion event in Iran to be held by the MARD and the
Ministry of Industry and Trade in November 2017.
He said the Department of Animal Health and the Plant Protection Department
have been assigned to study and remove technical barriers to animal health and
plant protection so as to push export activities of the two countries.
The minister suggested Iran ship fish and bone powder to Vietnam and import
rice, banana and lemon from the Southeast Asian nation, saying many Vietnamese
firms want to come to Iran to explore investment and business opportunities in
the country.
He also called on the two sides to step up collaboration in construction
material production, petro-chemistry and bauxite.
For his part, Alaeddin Boroujerdi proposed the two countries cooperate in the
banking and oil and gas sectors, join hands to organise exhibitions, remove
technical barriers to animal health and plant protection, and study preferential
trade agreements. He also suggested Vietnam import medicines produced by Iran.
Iran will provide free-of-charge venues for Vietnamese businesses at
exhibitions in Iran, he said, calling for similar support from the Vietnamese
side. -VNA