The first conference between Iranian and Canadian businessmen held in Montreal, Canada, on Saturday was organized by Canada and Iran Businessmen Association with the aim of introducing trade and commercial capacities of the two countries.
Secretary of Iran-Canada Friendship Society Mojtaba Ahmadlou, one of the sponsors of the conference, said legal issues and obstacles hindering banking and trade cooperation with Iran, Iran’s strategic importance in the region, its political stability and economic capacities for imports and exports were among issues discussed in the conference.
CIBA is a non-governmental and non-profit institute, Fars News Agency reported.
By resorting to the commercial laws of Canada and Iran in the fields of trade, commerce, industry and agriculture, the institute aims to create and expand appropriate grounds for reciprocal cooperation among businessmen and companies of the two countries.
A Canadian delegation arrived in Tehran on May 9 for talks to facilitate the restoration of diplomatic ties, the first such visit since the previous Canadian government closed its embassy in Tehran nearly five years ago.
In September 2012, the administration of former Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper, severed diplomatic contacts with the Islamic Republic, citing, among other pretexts, “continued threats from Iran to Israel”.
The Italian Embassy has been handling Canada’s interests in Iran since then.
Canada lifted a number of sanctions on Iran in February 2016, including a ban on financial services, imports and exports, bringing Ottawa into line with several world powers that had agreed to do so following a deal with Iran to curb its nuclear program.
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