Malaysian traders eager to deepen ties with Iran

TEHRAN, Nov. 21 (MNA) – President of Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MICCI) said her country’s businessmen are after expansion of ties with Iran in post-JCPOA era. Datuk Wira Jalilah Baba made the remarks at a session held on Monday to review business opportunities in Iran and Malaysia and voiced MICCI’s readiness to help develop trade cooperation with Iran. MICCI president, who is also an honorary member of Iran ASEAN Business Council, pointed to the history of MICCI emphasizing that the Chamber is ready to reinvigorate relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran. She underlined that subsidiaries of MICCI as well as other investment companies of Malaysia are provided with guidelines as how to bolster ties with Iran. The meeting, which was attended by owners of industry and trade firms, was held by MICCI and hosted by Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) as part of the southeast Asian country’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) in collaboration with Iran ASEAN Business Council. Mohammad Hafez Hokmi, Secretary of the first exhibition of trade and investment opportunities in Malaysia, also present a report on economic conditions of Iran in the post-JCPOA period and invited Malaysian investors to make sustainable presence in Iran for investment and technology transfer purposes. “The time is ripe for development of bilateral relations between the two countries since Iran has been enjoying an upward trend in GDP since 2014,” he underscored. Hokmi further touched upon Iran’s strategic location which provides access to North African, Middle Eastern and Eastern Europe markets via 13-thousand-kilometer railroads; “furthermore, free trade zones situated in northern and southern Iran remain as great opportunities for Malaysian exporters.” At the end of the session, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MICCI) and Iran ASEAN Business Council. The volume of trade turnover between Iran and Malaysia stood at 532 million dollars in 2015 while both sides intend to increase the number to one billion dollars in the short run.