TEHRAN – Iranian Agriculture Minister Mohammad-Ali Nikbakht has stressed the need for the expansion of economic exchanges with Serbia especially in the agricultural sector, the ministry’s news portal reported on Tuesday.

Speaking to the press after a meeting with the president of the National Assembly of Serbia Vladimir Orlic in Tehran, Nikbakht said: “The presidents of the two countries emphasize increasing trade exchanges between Iran and Serbia.”

The agricultural sector is considered one of the important economic sectors for both countries and transfer of knowledge in this area can have an effective role in development of different fields, he said.

Mentioning Serbia’s developed agriculture sector, the minister said: “Serbia has valuable experiences in various fields like livestock and poultry food, basic products and inputs such as all kinds of vegetable and summer seeds and we can benefit from such experience and we can also meet part of our country's needs in the field of corn and meat from Serbia.”

“We are also ready to supply a part of Serbia's agricultural needs according to the production capacity in Iran,” he added.

Iran and Serbia have been taking serious measures for the expansion of economic ties over the past six months.

Earlier this month, Head of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Hossein Selahvarzi met with Serbia’s Ambassador to Tehran Dragan Todorovic to discuss ways of expanding trade ties between the two countries.

During the meeting, the two sides stressed the need for expanding trade ties by promoting the exchange of trade delegations.

Also, in a meeting between the private sector representatives of Iran and Serbia in Tehran in late May, the two sides discussed ways of expanding mutual economic ties.

In that meeting which was attended by the acting head of the ICCIMA Department of International Affairs Niloufar Asadi and a delegation of Serbian private sector representatives, the two sides stressed the need for promoting joint investment and production in order to increase the level of trade.

According to Asadi, establishing a barter trade mechanism between the two sides can also significantly boost economic relations between the two countries.

The officials also explored common areas for cooperation including agriculture, petrochemicals, tourism, and especially health tourism.

The head of the Serbian delegation for his part expressed his country’s readiness for welcoming Iranian economic delegations in the future, saying: “In addition to cooperation between the science and technology parks of the two countries, we are looking for trade in agricultural products, especially the import of chemical fertilizers from Iran and the export of corn, soybeans, and other products.”

Meanwhile, in a meeting with the former Head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Alireza Peyman-Pak in Belgrade in July 2022, Serbia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Selakovic announced his country's serious determination to develop economic relations with Iran noting that volume of trade between the two countries has the potential to increase and Serbia supports this issue.

Selakovic referred to the 80-year history of official relations between the two countries and expressed the determination of the president and the government of the Republic of Serbia to expand economic cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Underlining the good political relations between the two countries, he said that the volume of mutual trade has the potential to increase and the Serbian government is ready to take the necessary measures to realize this goal.

Peyman-Pak, for his part, referred to the capacities and capabilities of Iranian companies and explained Iran’s roadmap for the development of economic cooperation with Serbia, and noted that several mechanisms have been considered to realize the increase in the volume of trade between the two countries through the private sectors.

He also emphasized the role of the chambers of commerce of Iran and Serbia in promoting trade relations between the two countries.

EF/MA

Photo: Iranian Agriculture Minister Mohammad-Ali Nikbakht (R) and President of the National Assembly of Serbia Vladimir Orlic