Iranian and Brazilian officials have called for concrete steps to help increase the volume of bilateral trade, saying that it will help strengthen ties between the two friendly countries.
“There is potential for expansion of trade between the Islamic Republic and Brazil, and there should be more focus on the industrial and agricultural sectors,” Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani told Fernando Affonso Collor de Mell, a Brazilian senator and former president, in a meeting in Tehran late on Saturday, ICANA reported.
Larijani called Brazil an influential player in the international arena and said barriers to trade and investment should be removed.
He criticized US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions on the country, stressing that Tehran has remained committed to its obligations under the deal.
In May, Trump exited Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with six major powers and reintroduced a first round of sanctions on Tehran in August.
Washington reimposed the second round of sanctions against Iran in early November, restoring sanctions lifted under the nuclear deal negotiated by the administration of former US president, Barack Obama, and adding 300 new designations, including Iran’s oil, shipping, insurance and banking sectors.
The Majlis speaker hailed Brazil’s stance on the nuclear agreement, stressing that Europeans are working on a special financial mechanism to keep trade with Iran flowing and salvage the accord.
Support for Iran
Collor said Brazil, as a member of the BRICS bloc of emerging economies that includes Russia, India, China and South Africa, stands by Iran and plans to enhance its ties with the country, particularly in the field of trade.
“We should make more joint decisions so that our common challenges will be resolved as well,” he added.
The senator noted that world governments should not remain silent in the face of Trump’s destructive policies.
In addition, the former Brazilian president said sanctions are not helpful and do not resolve any problems.
In a separate meeting with lawmaker Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh on the same day, Collor said unity among world nations can help prevent the US president from implementing its “extremist” decisions against international agreements.
“Sanctions policies disrupt trade relations in the world,” he told the chairman of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission.
Falahatpisheh said the US administration’s policies have contributed to the spread of global insecurity, adding that all countries should work to help stem the rise of extremism.
"The Islamic Republic has always been on the path of progress despite sanctions and foreign pressure," he said.
