Tehran, Seoul Set to Expand Humanitarian Trade

South Korea and Iran were set to hold the first "working group" session on expanding humanitarian trade via video links on Tuesday, the Korean Foreign Ministry said.
During a high-level videoconference last month, the two countries agreed to launch the working group, as Tehran strives to secure more medicine and medical equipment to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, with US sanctions impeding the efforts.
At Tuesday's session, the two sides were to discuss priority items to be exported to Iran, trade procedures and how to operate the new dialogue platform, Yonhap News Agency cited the ministry as saying.
"Our government will continue smooth cooperation among relevant agencies and active consultations with Iran to support our enterprises seeking to enter the Iranian market for humanitarian items such as medicine and medical equipment," the ministry said in a press release.
South Korean officials from the ministries of foreign affairs, health, finance and industry, as well as from other related agencies, were set to attend the meeting. The Iranian side is expected to include health and food and drug administration officials.
South Korea has pushed to increase humanitarian exports to Iran after the United States gave the green light to such exports in April based on its General License No. 8, a mechanism to authorize certain humanitarian transactions with Iran, even if those involve Iran's central bank which is subject to sanctions.