Iranian and Nigerian officials have discussed the exchange of trade delegations, participation in exhibitions, and facilitation of trade interactions, an Iranian official said.

Director General of African Bureau of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran Mohammad-Sadegh Ghannadzadeh made the remarks in the Sixth Iran-Nigeria Joint Commission on Tuesday, noting that Nigeria as the top economy in Africa is one of the most precious economic partners in the eyes of Iran.

Pointing to the facts that both countries enjoy economic, political and cultural commonalities and are both member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Ghannadzadeh added that both nations are also members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), possessing rich oil and gas reservoirs, and having more than 15 percent of shares of the Islamic Development Bank, but their bilateral economic and trade exchange is not satisfactory.

The Iranian official went on to say that statistics indicate that the volume of trade exchanges between Nigeria and Iran stood at about 125 million dollars last year, which seems to be a tiny figure in comparison with each country�s foreign trade of around 100 billion dollars per annum.

All necessary efforts to promote bilateral economic relationship have been put on agenda, including activation of joint commissions, so the Sixth Iran-Nigeria Joint Commission is held today after eight years of pause, he noted.

Remarkable accords and documents have been signed by both nations, which are going to be pursued by the joint commission, he said.

The official went on to say that new joint projects should become operational with the help of the governments and private sectors of both countries.

He further said that three topics are scheduled to be discussed in the sixth joint commission, including industry, mines, trade, banking, investment, agriculture transportation and energy fields as parts of economic sector; education, youths, environment and communications as parts of social affairs; and exchange of criminals, justice, defense, and visa waiver program as parts of political collaborations.

For his part, Nigerian Ambassador to Tehran Yakubu Santuraki Suleiman expressed satisfaction that both sides are determined to develop bilateral ties, saying that he is optimistic that the joint commission meeting will help expand mutual economic relationship.

Nigerians are resolute to follow up development of cultural and economic ties, the ambassador said, adding that both countries are ready to remove obstacles to reach positive outcomes.

 

By IRNA�