A commercial delegation comprising Malaysian economic players and business owners met with the representatives of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture on Tuesday to survey opportunities for boosting bilateral economic cooperation. The meeting was co-chaired by Dzulkifli Mahmud, chief executive officer of Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation, and Farhad Sharif, deputy head of ICCIMA for foreign affairs, ICCIMA news service reported. Dzulkifli said Malaysia is ready to increase bilateral trade from the current $532 million to more than $1 billion in the near future and that the target for the current year is for the two sides to achieve a 20-30% increase in commercial interactions. “Many Malaysian companies in the fields of oil and gas, transportation, information technology, urban services and halal food are eager to engage with their Iranian counterparts,” IRNA quoted him as saying. Noting that his country is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations which has a 625 million-strong market, he said Malaysia can be Iran’s gateway to this voracious market.
