Iran's president starts visit to Hanoi for talks

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani left Tehran for Vietnam capital Hanoi on Wednesday in an official visit to discuss mutual ties, official IRNA news agency reported.

In his two-day visit to Hanoi, Rouhani will head a high-ranking political and economic delegation, the report said.

Rouhani will meet with his Vietnamese counterpart Tran Dai Quang and other senior officials to discuss promotion of relations.

Both countries will sign cooperation agreements in diverse areas.

Before departure, Rouhani described Asia, particularly East Asia, as highly important for Iran to establish and develop ties.

Also, Rouhani hailed Vietnam as a country which has contributed to the economic development in the region, and the one that enjoys good and close relations with Iran, according to Press TV.

He said that the visit to Vietnam is meant to enhance bilateral ties, especially in the areas of exporting technical and engineering services from the Islamic republic to the country.

According to the report, a delegation from Iran's private sector will also discuss economic relations with their Vietnamese partners in Hanoi during the president's visit.

Reportedly, trade exchanges between Iran and Vietnam reached 300 million U.S. dollars in 2013 from 80 million dollars in 2010.

Currently, the bilateral trade between stand at 350 million dollars. Iran has expressed interest in raising the figure to 2 billion dollars in five years. Endit