Iran welcomes the idea of setting up a joint chamber of commerce with Singapore, which can help traders exchange information on the economic capacities of both sides, chairman of the Iranian chamber of commerce, mine, industry and agriculture, Gholam Hossein Shafeie said in a meeting with Singapore deputy foreign minister Albert Chau in Tehran last week.
“Singapore is not a big country, but economically it is one the most influential and effective members of Association of Southeast Asia Nation (ASEAN), which is why Iran wants to expand trade with Singapore” Shafeie said.
He also expressed hope that agreements on joint investment and removal of double taxation, which have already been signed between the two countries, will soon be implemented.
For his part, Chau criticized the western media for depicting a false image of Iran saying: “I and my accompanying team decided to visit Tehran to see the situation on the ground first hand.”
The deputy foreign minister also expressed hope that the ongoing nuclear talks between Tehran and the P5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany) would yield results to ensure a better future for Iran.
As of 2011, trade between Iran and Singapore totaled $5.6 billion per annum. However, it fell to $2.1 billion by the end of 2012, mainly as a result of western sanctions on Iran’s banking system and oil industry.
