TEHRAN (Iran News) – Head of Iran-Vietnam Joint Chamber of Commerce Mr. Mostafa Mousavi says elimination of intermediary countries and signing preferential tariffs will help the trade between Iran and Vietnam to boost.

Speaking to the ICCIMA website, Mousavi said Vietnam is an industrial country with appropriate economic growth, adding that trade capacities and joint investment with this country are very diverse, reiterating that restoring direct trade relationship with this country and eliminating the intermediary countries, it requires an agreement on preferential tariffs to be signed between Iran and Vietnam.

He said taking advantage of the capacity of commercial counselors in countries like Vietnam is necessary for Iran, adding he believes in the sanctions era, commercial attaches need to be placed out of the embassies to ease contacts.

Mousavi pointed to the effective role of commercial attaches, saying they can pave the ground for the presence of Iranian investors and traders in the target countries and markets.

He also raised the suggestion for launching the trade center by the private sector in Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, and noted that such a center is very effective in Vietnam because this country enjoys very considerable capacities in exports and imports especially with Iran that it can be a good provider for foodstuff and raw material for production in Vietnam.

This economic activist described Vietnam as a cautious country interested in cooperation with Iran and pointed to Vietnam’s abstentin in the United Nations Security Council voting against Iran regarding arms embargo. He added that Vietnam’s abstention was very significant politically because indeed it was against the U.S. and in favor of Iran although in a cautious way, and the fact Vietnam by this vote showed that it is not after tension in the world.

Mousavi went on to say that Iran’s exports to Vietnam were around $27m in 2018 and its imports stood at $183m in the same period. He noted that in the early days after the JCPOA, Iran’s trade with Vietnam soared and hit $500b.

He also pointed to the significant decline in trade exchanges between Iran and Vietnam due to the sanctions and coronavirus pandemic, adding that currently and according to the official balance, the trade balance is in favor of Iran and it is positive but he believes the trade balance with Vietnam is negative because a huge amount of Vietnam’s exports to Iran have entered the country via the third party country especially via the UAE.

Mousavi added that to restore direct trade ties between the two countries and eliminating middlemen and the third party countries, Iran and Vietnam have better sign an agreement on preferential tariffs, and in this case, the goods will be imported with more suitable prices and the volume of Iran’s exports to Vietnam will also grow.

He said by probable removing the sanctions by the new U.S. President, Iran can sign this agreement with Vietnam and the trade level between the two states can be enhanced.

Mousavi stated that Iran can export fruits to Vietnam and in return, it can enjoy Vietnam’s new irrigation methods and joint investment. He reiterated that the quality of Vietnamese goods is one of the best in East Asia and all famous brands in this country are grade one and there is no low quality.

He went on to say that Vietnam is a location for re-export of dried-fruits to Laos, Cambodia, and China, and therefore Iran can cooperate with Vietnam both on dried-fruits and raw materials of petrochemicals.