Domestic Economy
0

Brazilian Mission in Tehran to Bolster Trade Ties

Brazilian Mission in Tehran  to Bolster Trade Ties
Brazilian Mission in Tehran  to Bolster Trade Ties

Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff has time and again underlined the importance of expanding ties with Iran, said the Brazilian Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade Armando Monteiro at Iran-Brazil Trade Conference in Tehran on Monday.

"As a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Brazil has always defended Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy. Now that the Iranian diplomacy has come to fruition, Tehran has become a key destination for world’s traders,” he added.

Monteiro, accompanied by Minister of Mines and Energy Eduardo Braga and 35 Brazilian traders and economic players, is on a three-day visit to Iran to strengthen bilateral relations in trade, energy, banking and agriculture sectors, IRNA reported.

“According to the International Monetary Fund, Iran can play a significant role in the future of global economy as an emerging economy. To this end, Brazil is ready to expand trade with Iran,” he said.

The Brazilian minister also viewed the $1.4 billion Iran-Brazil trade in 2014 as meager and called for cooperation between Iranian and Brazilian companies in food, energy, science, technology, oil, gas and petrochemical sectors.

Multifaceted Ties

Iran's Minister of Industries, Mining and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh and Mohammad Khazaei, deputy economy minister and the head of the Organization for Investment Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran, also attended the conference.

“To develop bilateral trade and economic ties, Brazil should set the stage for direct air and sea routes between the two countries,” Nematzadeh said.

“Given Brazil's great achievements in the aviation industry, Iran can meet its demand for passenger and training airplanes through Brazilian companies. The two countries can also develop relations through joint investment in industries, mining, oil, gas, infrastructure and electronics as well as production of halal food.”

Referring to Iran’s rich mining, oil, gas and petrochemical resources, Nematzadeh said Brazil enjoys vast potential in the agriculture sector, thanks to its geographical location.

“With regard to the favorable political relations between the two countries, we need to strategically redefine trade and industrial ties, and pave the way for more cooperation. Iran can act as an investment hub for Brazil, given the fact that more than 350 million people live in the Middle East,” he said.

Khazaei said Brazil, India, Russia, China and South Africa established BRICS Development Bank with an initial investment of $100 billion and Iran hopes to join this bank in the not-too-distant future.

"The Iran-Brazil Economic Commission has not been convened since 1995, which is to blame for meager trade between the two countries," Mehr News Agency quoted him as saying.

“Considering the two countries' vast trade and industrial potentials, bilateral trade volume should increase to $5 billion per year in the shortest period.”

The official noted that to promote bilateral trade, the two sides intend to sign a tax treaty and customs agreement.

Khazaei called on all Brazilian firms to invest in sectors of mutual interests and said, “Without joint investment, bilateral trade will be prone to global market fluctuations.”

Top Priority

Separately, Monteiro met with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who said Brazil has always been among Iran’s top priorities, when it comes to foreign policies because of its status in Latin America and BRICS.

“We are moving toward developing a new roadmap in which the two countries’ companies, banking and economic institutes would assume more prominent roles,” Zarif added.

During their three-day stay, the Brazilian envoys are scheduled to meet with top Iranian officials and representatives of the private sectors (members of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture).

Their visit follows the visit of Iranian Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Ali Tayyebnia to Brasilia in mid-October. There, the Iranian minister met with Brazil’s Minister of Finance Joaquim Levy, Monteiro, Minister of External Relations Mauro Vieira and Governor of the Central Bank of Brazil Alexandre Tombini.

Brazil is the largest country in both South and Latin America. The Brazilian economy is the world's eighth-largest by nominal GDP and seventh-largest in purchasing power parity as of 2015, according to IMF. Industries from automobiles, steel and petrochemical to computers, aircraft and consumer durables account for 30.8% of the gross domestic product while agriculture and allied sectors like forestry, logging and fishing account for 5.1% of the GDP.

The country is also one of the largest producers of oranges, coffee, sugarcane, cassava and sisal, soybeans and papayas in the world.

Financialtribune.com