TEHRAN- The value of France’s imports from Iran rose 45 folds to reach €1.348 billion in 2016 from €30 million in 2015, based on the latest figures released by the European Union’s statistics agency Eurostat.

The Eurostat’s figures also show that Iran-France trade increased 3.5 folds to stand at €2.07 billion in 2016 from €592 million in its previous year, Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday.

France’s exports to Iran witnessed 28 percent growth rising to €722 million in 2016 from €592 million in 2015.

Iran and France took another step to boost cooperation in different fields of economy by signing five agreements at the end of a business forum in Tehran on January 31.

The agreements, signed at the place of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA), included cooperation on developing Mashhad International Airport, establishing a bioethanol plant, expanding fish farms, and holding pilot training courses in Iran.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, and ICCIMA Chairman Gholam-Hossein Shafeie attended the signing ceremony.

Ayrault was accompanied by 100 delegates including some top officials from well-known companies such as Airbus, Alstom, and Total as well as several representatives from French companies active in metallurgy, construction, banking, information technology (IT), steel industry and etc.

Also, Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (IRIR) and French National Railway Company SNCF signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Sunday for enhancement of railway cooperation, IRIB reported.

Based on the MOU six task forces will be formed to work in various sectors including express railways, station services, suburban train lines, consulting for structure renewal, crisis management and rail transport machinery.

MA/MG