TEHRAN – Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) hosted a conference on introducing the opportunities and capacities of presence in the Indian market on Tuesday.

The conference was attended by officials from the two sides including the ambassadors of the two countries, board members of the chambers of commerce of Iran and India, and more than 300 businessmen from both sides, the TPO portal reported.

The TPO Acting Head Mehdi Zeyghami, Iranian Ambassador to India Iraj Elahi, and India’s Ambassador to Tehran Rudra Gaurav Shresth were among the speakers at the conference.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the event, Zeyghami pointed out that India is one of the main trade priorities for Iran, saying: “Considering the huge volume of India's trade with the world, Iran has a small share, which should be increased.”

“Holding such conferences and workshops along with exchanging trade delegations can lead to the strengthening of business relations between the two countries and ultimately lead to the prosperity of trade,” he added.

Referring to the existing obstacles in the way of trade development with India, Zeyghami said: “Strict standards and high tariffs for Iranian agricultural products have caused these products to be smuggled to neighboring countries that have zero tariffs with India and then exported to India, which has caused damage to Iranian businessmen.”

Referring to TPO’s plan to revive idle trade agreements with other countries, the official said: “Free trade with Eurasia and preferential trade agreement with Indonesia have been concluded, and preferential trade agreements with other countries are being pursued, and we have the same seriousness regarding our preferential trade agreement with India.”

Further in the conference, Shresth referred to the history of cultural, political, and commercial relations between Iran and India and said: “We hope that holding such programs will lead to the development of commercial relations between the two countries.”

Pointing to the existing obstacles in the way of the expansion of trade relations between India and Iran, he said: “Solutions have been found to overcome the obstacles, especially in financial and banking issues.”

EF/MA