Iran and Vietnam move towards free trade. In the 9th Joint Economic Commission Meeting between Iran and Vietnam in Tehran, the Minister of Industry and Mining, Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, announced an agreement for preferential trade with Vietnam and an increase of exports to 2 billion Dollars in the near future.
Mr Nematzadeh called to expedite banking relations among the two countries. This will allow Iranian engineering firms to take part in Vietnamese auctions for the construction of dams and water refineries. He also welcomed the presence of the Vietnamese Ministry of Oil in the Danan oil field.
Mojtaba Khosrotaj, Head of Iran Development Organization pointed to trade between the countries and said: “Last year Iran exported 395 million dollars of non-oil goods to Vietnam including petrochemical products, metals, food and construction material. Moreover fish and seafood which are not marketable in Iran were exported to Vietnam. However, agreements need to be reached on the topics of plant and animal quarantines.”
Last year Iran imported a total of 40 million Dollars from Vietnam. Regarding one of the main imports from Vietnam to Iran which is rice, Khosrotaj added: “Since the Ministry of Health has yet to approve Vietnam’s rice fields, the import of rice is currently on hiatus. The Vietnamese aim to improve their trade balance by resuming the export rice to Iran.”
Due to rich bauxite mines, which is the primary substance for producing aluminum, in Vietnam, Iran is keen on joint investment in order to produce alumina and after that building aluminum plants.
