TEHRAN – The 10th meeting of the Iran-Tunisia Joint Economic Commission kicked off in Tehran on Sunday and will wrap up today.

Iranian Commerce Minister Masoud Mirkazemi and Tunisian Trade and Handicrafts Minister Ridha Touiti co-chair the meeting.
“Iran is very much interested in the promotion of its economic relations with Muslim nations,” Mirkazemi said, adding Tunisia can be an apt market for Iranian-made products and a justified transit route for exporting to Europe, so the two countries should benefit from the existing potential to boost trade ties.
The 10th meeting has brought issues such as industrial and banking cooperation, tourism, and transportation into spotlight, Mirkazemi noted.
Trade between Iran and Tunisia stood at $220 million in the first ten months of the current Iranian calendar year (to end March 20), according to the Mehr News Agency.
Tunisia was the first African country which signed a preferential trade agreement with Iran in 2006.
According to IRNA, Tehran and Tunis have so far inked 30 memorandums of understanding in different industrial and economic fields such as boosting bilateral trade, avoiding double taxation, and supporting mutual investment. The two countries held their first joint economic commission in 1997.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Trade Promotion Organization of Iran Director Mehdi Ghazanfari told reporters that a 15-strong Tunisian trade delegation will travel to different provinces of Iran to get familiar with their industrial capabilities.
The Tunisian minister said that the preferential trade agreement between Iran and Tunisia has significantly increased the bilateral trade, voicing his country’s eagerness to enhance free trade and economic cooperation with Iran.