Iran eyes increased trade ties with Philippines

Iran has expressed its interest to increase its trade relations with the Philippines, its new ambassador has said.

Iranian Ambassador Yousef Esmaeilzadeh submitted his credentials to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Thursday.

Esmaeilzadeh said Iran had been focusing on Asia especially in the ASEAN because of the developing economy of the nations.

“We have good relations with some other members of the ASEAN. So, we’d like to increase trade and economic relations between Iran and the Philippines. In that case, we can do several economic subjects,” Esmaeilzadeh said.

When it comes to agriculture, Esmaeilzadeh raised the possibility of organizing a barter, with Iran sending fertilizer to the Philippines as well as importing its tropical fruits.

The envoy said the two countries could also cooperate on science as well as in maritime security. The Philippines and Iran can also start people-to-people exchanges that cover different fields.

“So, this is our idea. We can do well to develop our relationship. So, as you know, we are [celebrating] our 60th anniversary in January next year. If possible, we can do very well to exchange high-level delegation. More than 20 years, nearly 30 years, we don’t have a high-level delegation,” Esmaeilzadeh said.

For his part, Marcos said the Philippines has so much to learn from all its allies, friends, and partners around the world, noting that this partnership will be very useful for both the Philippines and Iran.

“The Philippines now is continuing to foster new partnerships between what we have come to call non-traditional partners," the President said.

"It is a lesson that we have learned from the pandemic when the time came when trade or all the exchanges had to stop for reasons of health and we realize that we have to build up the agricultural economy so that we can support at least as a foundation for the rest of the development of our economy,” Marcos said. —NB, GMA Intefrated News