Iran sends economic delegation to India to discuss boosting trade exchanges

An Iranian trade delegation arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday to discuss boosting the volume of trade exchanges between Iran and India.
Head of Iran's Chamber of Commerce Gholam Hossein Shafeyee is heading the 30-member trade delegation to India.
Shafeyee pointed to the problems facing the Iranian businessmen who want to boost their trade relations with India, and said, "We have informed the Indian embassy in Tehran and the Indian officials about this issue."
The head of Iran's Chamber of Commerce reiterated the importance of Iran's private sector in boosting trade ties between the two countries, and said, "The presence of Iranian traders and investors in the regional market, including Iraq and Afghanistan, can help multilateral cooperation among these countries."
Last week, Iranian and Indian officials in a meeting in New Delhi conferred on different ways to further broaden trade relations between the two Asian countries.
The issue was discussed between Iranian President's Advisor Akbar Torkan and Indian Minister of Commerce and Industries Nirmala Sitharaman.
During the meeting, Torkan underlined the need to use north-south corridor to develop the Chabahar port city in Iran’s Southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan.
He said India could use Iran’s railway and roads to get access to the Commonwealth markets, adding that Iran will provide necessary facilities for India to make investments in Chabahar.
The Indian minister, for her part, welcomed cooperation with Iran, adding that closer ties would benefit both nations.
She stressed that India exercised no restrictions in allocating credit lines for cooperation with Iran.
Torkan visited India to take part in an international trade meeting.
During a meeting between Torkan and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, the two officials underlined that there were abundant potentials and capacities in both countries which must be utilized as good grounds for promotion of bilateral economic cooperation.
Torkan added that Iran can help energy hungry India meet its demands through a gas pipeline which would take Iran’s gas to the Gujarat port in India via the port of Chabahar and after passing through a 940-km-long sea route.
Prime Minister Modi said New Delhi attaches great importance to bilateral relations with Tehran.
He referred to Iran’s Chabahar Free Trade Zone as a center of joint economic interests of Iran and India.
Iran and India which have deep historical and cultural relations are now seeking to further expand ties in various domains.
India, the world's fourth-largest petroleum consumer, is Iran's second largest oil customer after China and purchases around $12bln worth of Iranian crude every year, about 12 percent of its consumption.
Iran is a rich country in terms of natural resources, and India enjoys advanced agriculture and computer industry.
Combination of Iran and India capabilities and capacities can flourish both sides' economies.