Tehran, Iran, Sept. 21
By Mehdi Sepahvand -- Trend:
France has methods to save on water in the agriculture sector that the country can export to other countries, including Iran, France's Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Stéphane Le Foll said.
Speaking during a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Hojjati, Le Foll added that France and Iran could do a lot in cooperation in research and education in the concerned areas, Fars news agency reported Sept. 21.
He further said his country is ready to provide Iran with engineered livestock genes for the improvement of milk and meat production at Iranian farms.
Hojjati, for his part, said Iran and France would engage in a vast array of cooperation, including foresting, raising livestock, seafood production, etc.
In particular, he pointed to cooperation in producing genetically engineered wheat seeds. Work will also be done to help improve Iran's production of oil seeds, he stated.
In a meeting held prior to the press conference, the two officials signed five agreements to boost cooperation in agriculture and food security areas.
French economic and political delegation arrived in Tehran on Sept. 20 to lay the groundwork for the first business contracts between France and Iran since an accord to curb its nuclear program in July.
According to official statistics released by French Foreign Ministry, Iran's imports from France in 2013 fell to $558.22 million as compared to $1.66 billion in 2011.
Meanwhile, the Iran Customs Administration put Iran's non-oil exports to France and import from the country at $31.5 million and $571.2 million, respectively, in the previous calendar year, ended on March 20, 2015.
Edited by CN