Iran, Vietnam Agree to Expand Economic Ties

 Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said that Tehran and Hanoi have decided to increase their trade volume to $2 billion in five years time.

    President Rouhani made the remark in a press conference with his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang in Tehran on Monday.

    The President added that despite good potentials for expansion of economic ties between the two countries, Iran and Vietnam had been unable to make the most of the existing capacities due to sanctions. The removal of sanctions following the implementation of the nuclear deal in January has however provided the condition for the two sides to increase the volume of trade exchange from the current $350 million to $2 billion in the span of five years, Iran's Mehr News Agency (MNA) reported.

    He said that the two countries have also decided to sign an MoU between the central banks of Iran and Vietnam as the first step to boost economic cooperation.

    He added that the two sides have also reached agreements on various economic issues such as energy, industry, agriculture, tourism, investment, and IT, as well as the fight against terrorism.

    The Vietnamese president arrived in Tehran on Sunday on an official three-day visit at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart. Tan Sang, heading a politico-economic delegation, is slated to hold talks with Iranian officials on expanding bilateral ties in the fields of economy, banking, and energy.