( IRNA ) - Deputy Minister of Agriculture Jihad for international affairs and development of cooperation with Africa, Farid Ejlali, and Myanmar's deputy foreign minister in a meeting on Wednesday urged the need to broaden cooperation in the agriculture sector.
At the meeting, Ejlali referred to production of 100 million tons of agricultural products and put the relevant self-sufficiency coefficient at 95 percent.
"Despite the potentials of both sides in the field of agriculture, the level of bilateral ties in the sector is low. Iran is interested in expanding its cooperation with Myanmar in production of rice, cane and caoutchouc as well as natural resources and fish culture.
On his part, U Kyaw Thu expressed satisfaction with his visit to Iran and said, "The level of cooperation between the two countries is currently favorable and Myanmar is willing to bolster its economic exchanges with Iran, in particular in the agriculture sector." He added that Myanmar's economy is based on agriculture, so 54.6 percent of the country's growth national product (GNP) belongs to this sector.
Myanmar's deputy foreign minister said that 70 percent of the country's manpower is involved in agricultural activities.
"With an annual production of 27.5 million tons of rice, Myanmar ranks ninth in the world in this regard," he added.
The Iranian official called for exchange of agricultural delegations between the two sides and revival of the memorandum of understanding, which was earlier signed by the two countries.