BERLIN The deputy head of the Export Promotion Center of Iran (EPCI) said here Tuesday that the country is determined to reach a trade balance with Germany by the end of its third five-year development plan (2000-2005). Hossein Soltani, a member of a delegation currently on a five-day visit in Germany to discuss Tehran-Berlin economic cooperation, made the remarks while giving a briefing on the status of the Iranian economy and the country's export initiatives in a conference on Iran-Germany trade opportunities, organized by the Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce. He told the audience that the visit to Germany of the 70-member Iranian trade delegation is taking place to advance the aforesaid goals. Soltani said that in the past 30 years Germany has remained Iran's major trade partner and main source of imports as well as a major importer of Iranian traditional products such as handwoven carpets, pistachios and caviar. "Studies show that there are tremendous possibilities for expanded economic, trade, technical and cultural cooperation between the two sides," Soltani further remarked. However, he pointed out, utilization of such potentials calls for a clear and sound assessment of German demands by Iranian exporters and industrialists and vice versa in order to better meet the needs of each other's consumer markets. Pointing to the visit last year to Germany of President Mohammad Khatami, the official described it as having opened a new horizon in Tehran-Berlin bilateral relations. He said trade indices indicate that Iranian exports to Germany amounted to 552 million German marks as of June 2000, reflecting an increase of 43 percent over that of the preceding year. On the other hand, Germany's exports to Iran during the said period reached 2 billion German marks, reflecting an increase of 25 percent over that of the preceding year. He warned of complacency, saying recent achievements in bilateral trade should not diminish both countries' grave responsibility of giving the trend further momentum by removing present bottlenecks in the way of bilateral relations, bolstering trade transactions and forging a trade balance. EPCI President Mojtaba Khosrotaj, who heads the Iranian delegation in Germany and also spoke in the gathering, pointed to existing potentials for further expansion of Iran-Germany cooperation and asked for Iranian proposals to be looked into. He said as one of Germany's oil suppliers, Iran expects German corporations to assist in expanding his country's industrial and trade potentials as well as its share in the world trade by, among others, investing in Iranian industries in joint venture or joint marketing agreements. Khosrotaj, who is currently a deputy commerce minister, emphasized Iran's high potential for production and its policy of giving priority to meeting domestic demand in line with its emphasis on rendering social justice. He said that Iran's import policy is mainly directed at improving its industrial capacity and increasing national production. Pointing to Iran's meager share in world trade, Khosrotaj said the country's third development plan encourages free trade and strengthening of the country's standing in world markets. "Given its immense oil and gas reserves and investments in the petrochemical field, this sector has made outstanding growth in recent years such that presently Iran can claim to be second in the region in terms of petrochemical production," he said. Highlighting the existence of skilled Iranian manpower in the industrial and technical fields, particularly in the computer software industry, he said their presence in German establishments could prove to be highly rewarding. He proposed that Iranian manpower be considered for employment in the German labor market. Khosrotaj is scheduled to discuss Tehran-Berlin economic cooperation with the Economic Minister of Nordrhein-Westfalen state and will also meet economic officials of the state of Rheinland-Pfalz. (IRNA)