Update: Rouhani says Iran, Vietnam determined to boost trade ties

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Monday that Tehran and Hanoi have decided to increase their trade volume to a considerable level.

Despite potentials for expansion of economic ties between the two, Iran and Vietnam had been unable to make the most of the existing capacities due to the sanctions against Iran over the past years, Rouhani said in joint press conference with his visiting Vietnamese counterpart, Truong Tan Sang.

The removal of sanctions, following the implementation of a nuclear deal in January, has however provided conditions for the two sides to increase the volume of trade exchange from the current 350 million U.S. dollars to 2 billion dollars in the span of five years, Rouhani said, according to semi-official Mehr news agency.

"We have also decided to sign an MoU between the central banks of Iran and Vietnam as the first step to boost economic cooperation between the two countries," Rouhani was quoted as saying.

The two sides have also reached agreements on cooperating in energy, industry, agriculture, tourism, investment, IT, as well as the fight against terrorism, he said.

Meanwhile, Tehran and Hanoi have similar views on regional and international issues, and have close cooperation with one another in international organizations such as the UN and the Non-Aligned Movement, he added.

Also, the Vietnamese president urged for cementing bilateral economic and trade ties.

"Our priority is economic and trade cooperation and we are planning to provide proper conditions for the two sides' private sectors to utilize all the existing potentials," he said.

The two countries have also reached a conclusion that regional and international conflicts must be settled through peaceful approaches in accordance with the international law, Sang added.

Heading a high-ranking political and economic delegation, Sang arrived in Tehran on Sunday for a three-day visit. Endit