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Will to Revive Iran-Croatia Joint Economic Committee

Will to Revive Iran-Croatia Joint Economic Committee
Will to Revive Iran-Croatia Joint Economic Committee

Tehran is ready to revive the Iran-Croatia Joint Economic Committee, as the committee “would further help expansion of bilateral trade,” First Vice President, Es’haq Jahangiri, said on Monday in an official meeting with Croatian Ambassador Striebor Keric.

Praising Croatia’s recently-held presidential elections as successful, Jahangiri said: “Tehran is keen to expand its trade relations with Zagreb in all areas of economic activities,” noting that trade ties between the two countries are not as good as their political relations.

Underlining the necessity of what he called “exchanging high ranking delegations” between the two countries, he said: “Both countries enjoy massive capacities for cooperation that can be explored via official exchanges.”

The Croatian ambassador, for his part, said: “Iran was among the first countries that recognized Croatia’s independence, and we will never forget that.”

After Croatia declared independence in June 1991, Iran became the 7th country worldwide to recognize the southeastern European nation.

Pointing to a recent visit to Croatia by Iran’s parliament speaker Ali Larijani, Keric said: “Such visits will open new windows in bilateral relations, especially parliamentary relations, between Iran and Croatia.”

The Iranian parliament speaker paid a visit to Croatia on the last leg of his tour of three European countries back in October to further explore new avenues of trade with the eastern European country.  

In his meeting with President Ivo Josipovic, in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik, Larijani said economic ties between Tehran and Zagreb could flourish in light of the existing capacities for bilateral relations.

The Croatian ambassador also called for a boost in bilateral trade between the two countries, saying: “Given that the two countries enjoy massive capacities, attempts have to be made to expand trade ties between the two countries.”

 He said that Iran and Croatia can expand their bilateral cooperation in areas such as energy, information technology, medicine, industry and tourism.

Relations between Iran and Croatia took a new turn following the election of President Hassan Rouhani in June 2013. Ever since, high ranking delegations from Croatia have paid visits to Iran.

In late January, Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic visited Tehran and held talks with her Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, parliament spokesperson Ali Larijani, and President Hassan Rouhani with the aim of facilitating bilateral trade between the two countries.

As part of her talks with President Rouhani, Pusic, who also serves as Croatia’s vice prime minister, called for expansion of bilateral ties, saying: “Croatia is looking to open a new chapter in its relations with Iran.”  

Iran and Croatia have recently begun a joint venture in tobacco manufacturing. A leading Croatian cigarette manufacturer TDR (Tobacco Factory Rovinj) recently announced that it is about to invest in Sari, the capital of Mazandaran province. TDR, which operates as a subsidiary of Adris Group, recently announced opening a new factory in Sari through partnership with Iran’s leading cigarette manufacturer, Iranian Tobacco Company. TDR’s investment in Iran is reportedly worth around 30 million Euros, with the new factory having the capacity to manufacture 6 billion cigarettes a year.

Financialtribune.com