TEHRAN - Indian Ambassador to Tehran Gaddam Dharmendra said India is considering a new bank besides UCO bank for undertaking trade with Iran, IRIB reported.

The ambassador made the remarks in a meeting with the Head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Gholam-Hossein Shafei on Sunday.

In the meeting, Dharmendra expressed his country’s determination for expanding trade ties with Iran saying, “Considering the problems regarding the banking relations, commodity exchange could be a good solution for boosting the bilateral trade.”

The official mentioned the two countries’ current $14 billion trade turnover and noted that adding new commodity groups to the basket of trade could further boost the figure up.

Dharmendra also underlined talks with Iranian authorities for considering Shahid Beheshti Port in southeastern Iran as a path for developing trade relations between the two countries, saying “By doing so, we can boost the level of trade between the two countries. On the other hand, focusing more on Chabahar Port and the capacities available in this region can be helpful in this direction.”

He further pointed to preferential trade between the two countries as a priority in India's future plans for trade with Iran, adding that “Commodity exchange is a good idea that could help us bypassing the banking problems caused by sanctions against Iran.”

Shafei for his part, mentioned the long-term plans made by the two countries’ authorities for boosting trade ties, emphasizing that new policies should be developed to facilitate such relations. 

He called for cooperation between the transport and industry ministries of Iran and India to invest in Chabahar Port.

The official finally suggested holding regular meetings between the two countries’ businessmen in association with the two countries’ chambers of commerce and also the Indian Embassy in Tehran.
EF/MA