Tehran, Iran, June 21
By A. Shirazi - Trend:
The head of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran emphasized the need for enhanced ties with Serbia in various fields, saying that the two countries have good potential to forge closer relations.
“There are many capacities in the two countries that need to be developed,” Mojtaba Khosrotaj said on June 20 during an evening meeting with officials of Serbia’s Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications in Belgrade, IRNA news agency reported.
Resumption of direct flights between the two countries after a hiatus of almost 27 years and removal of visa restrictions for Iranian nationals traveling to the country both could help increase the volume of transactions and investment in the two countries, he added.
The Iranian deputy minister further said joint and collective efforts are required by the two governments to improve banking and transportation infrastructures.
Khosrotaj also took swipe at the volume of trade transactions between Tehran and Belgrade given the exiting potential.
During the meeting, Serbia's Ambassador to Tehran Dragan Todorovic called for the expansion of ties between the countries, saying that the volume of trade turnover between the two during the first three months of the current year witnessed a four-fold growth compared to the same period in 2017.
In 2017, the government of Serbia announced that in order to improve bilateral relations as well as to attract tourists and investors to Serbia, it had passed a legislation to abolish visa requirements for citizens of Iran and India intending to travel to the country.
The level of trade between Iran and Serbia stands at $20 million.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in February visited Belgrade to explore the avenues for expanding economic relations between the two countries.
In a meeting with his Serbian counterpart Ivica Dacic, Zarif named oil, gas, petrochemicals, mines, agriculture and IT as some areas appropriate for expansion of ties between the two countries.
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