site.btaBulgarian Business Shows Growing Interest in Iranian Partners

Bulgarian Business Shows Growing Interest in Iranian Partners

Sofia, April 15 (BTA) - Meeting with Mohsen Jalalpour, Chairman of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture on Thursday, Deputy Economy Minister Lyuben Petrov said that developing mutually advantageous trade and economic relations with Iran is an important component of Bulgaria's foreign economic policy in the Asian region.

Petrov stressed that now that the sanctions on Iran have been lifted, there are conditions to fully tap the potential of bilateral relations and exchange business delegations.

Bulgarian businesses are showing growing interest in establishing contacts with Iranian partners. The sectors with a potential for closer trade cooperation with Iran include the pharmaceutical, chemical and food industries, the manufacture of components for the automotive industry and information technology, said Petrov.

For his part, Jalalpour said Iranian business is strongly interested in cooperation in transport, energy, tourism, trade and the joint manufacture of commodities. Iran will be a centre of stability in the region in the coming years, and due to its strategic location Bulgaria can turn into a gateway to Europe for Iran.

At present, trade is the number one form of economic relations between Bulgaria and Iran. Two-way trade increased substantially in 2014 to 166.2 million US dollars, with Bulgarian exports growing 130 per cent from 2013 to 123.9 million dollars. In 2015, two-way trade was comparatively strong at 155.2 million dollars, of which 139.6 million dollars in Bulgarian exports to Iran.

/СН/