TEHRAN - The European Union’s trade with Iran amounted to €13.7 billion in 2016, a 78 percent rise compared to 2015, based on the latest figures released by the European Union’s statistics agency Eurostat.

The figure was €7.68 billion in 2015, Tasnim news agency reported.

Iran’s exports to the EU stood at €5.46 billion in 2016, with 4.5-fold rise from €1.23 billion in the preceding year. The noticeable increase is due to the EU’s resumption of oil imports from Iran.

After the lifting of sanctions against the country in January 2016, Iran’s been trying to regain its traditional clients in countries like Greece and Italy as a priority.

While the EU’s imports from Iran rose noticeably in 2016, its exports to the country increased just by 27 percent and reached €8.24 billion from €6.45 billion in 2015.

In April 2016, Iran and the EU issued a joint statement in Tehran setting the road map for cooperation. The statement was released by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini who visited Iran along with seven European commissioners.

The two sides taking stock of their long standing relations, based upon mutual respect and interests, reiterated their intention to develop a broad and comprehensive agenda for bilateral cooperation. 

MA/MG