Vietnam – Iran relations developing comprehensively

TIN LIÊN QUAN
	Vietnam, Iran pose huge potential for cooperation
	NA Chairwoman welcomes Iranian Parliament Speaker’s visit

After 45 years, how have our bilateral relations developed?

The friendship and cooperation between Iran and Vietnam continues to grow each and every day. Leaders of the two countries have the political will to bring the relationship to new heights. High-level visits by leaders demonstrate the strong political will to expand bilateral relations. Over the past few years, there have been a number of high-level exchanges, including the official visit of President Truong Tan Sang to Iran and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Vietnam in 2016, Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Standing Committee Do Ba Ty’s visit to Iran in 2017 and the visit of Iran's National Assembly Chairman Ali Ardeshir Larijani to Vietnam in 2018.

President Tran Dai Quang walks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on his official visit to Vietnam, 6 October 2016. (Photo: Minh Chau)

In recent years, the two sides have focused on strengthening economic and trade cooperation, as well as removing barriers for businesses. In addition, the similarities in our countries’ history and culture also contribute to promoting bilateral relations in areas such as people-to-people exchange, cultural cooperation and tourism. It can be said that Vietnam – Iran relations are developing comprehensively in all fields of bilateral cooperation.

At present, trade turnover between Vietnam and Iran is relatively modest, at just over US$100 million. Is the goal of bringing bilateral trade turnover to over US$2 billion possible? What obstacles are we facing in reaching this goal?

As far as I know, bilateral trade is growing annually and it’s actually more than US$100 million, as the statistics given by the General Department of Vietnam Customs do not include Iranian products exported to Vietnam through a third country or products re-exported from Vietnam to countries in Southeast and North Asia.

However, I have to admit that there’s still a long way to go to the US$2 billion goal. But with the economic potential of the two countries, achieving this goal will not be too difficult but we have to act quickly and responsibly.

In the field of trade, our businesses do not yet have a clear and realistic view of the potentials, laws and regulations of the host countries or the manner and behavior of the two countries' businesses.

I hope that agreements signed between Ministries and departments of both countries will help remove obstacles for businesses and create a premise for future bilateral cooperation.

Can you tell us which sector has the best potential for cooperation and which Iranian businesses are most interested in Vietnam?

Vietnam has a population of more than 94 million and Iran has 84 million - both of which are major and potential markets for investment.

Iranian Ambassador to Vietnam Saleh Adibi.

Our economies also complement each other. Vietnam needs energy and petrochemical products, while Iran is one of the largest exporters of petroleum and petrochemical products. In the field of agriculture, while Vietnam can supply coffee, tea and spices to the Iranian market, Iran can also export to the Vietnamese market agricultural products such as apples, oranges and kiwi.

In the past year, pistachio and pistil saffron – two famous Iranian export products – have been registered for import licensing and have initially entered the Vietnamese market. I hope that, when we remove all the current barriers, we could easily find the main export products that our countries need, therefore contributing to increasing bilateral trade turnover.

The two sides have opened a number of charter flight routes and aim to open direct flights in the near future. How do you assess the potential for trade and tourism development between the two countries when we establish direct flights?

In 2017, 9 million Iranians travelled abroad and more than half a million visited Southeast Asia for its many beautiful natural landscapes, world famous tourist sites and historical and cultural similarities between the two nations. In March 2018, Iran’s biggest private airline opened charter flights to Ho Chi Minh City and Ha Noi and fortunately, these flights were well received by both sides.

The diversity in tourist destinations and indigenous cultures of Vietnam and Iran will create a strong foundation for tourism cooperation. We hope that, by facilitating the granting of visas to Iranians, Vietnam will welcome more Iranian tourists to your country.

Iran has now allowed citizens from 180 countries for apply for Iranian visas online. It will take less than a week for applicants to receive a visa at Iranian diplomatic missions, consulates overseas or Iranian international airports. And I would like to extend my welcome to all Vietnamese tourists to come and visit Iran.

Can you share some outstanding activities in 2018 to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Vietnam-Iran relations??

On the occasion of the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries, we plan to hold a workshop entitled ‘Prospects for bilateral relations in the future’, with the participation of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, University of Social Sciences and Humanities and Vietnam – Iran Business Council.

Cooperation in the film industry had also been established in 2017 and we hope to be able to regularly organise the ‘Iranian Film Week’ in Vietnam, in order to push people-to-people exchanges. At the same time, organising trade fairs to introduce products including famous handicrafts of Iran is one of the activities we plan to do this year.

Thank you so much, Your Excellency!

By Trinh Quang Chinh

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