Iran, Italy to expand agricultural coop.

TEHRAN, Feb. 10 (MNA) – Minister of Agricultural Jihad Mahmoud Hojjati said here on Tuesday that Iran and Italy are set to sign cooperation agreements today. Iranian Minister of Agriculture Mahmoud Hojjati said Iran is among the first 10 countries to produce and export agricultural products. He underlined that Iran said Iran ranks the first in the world regarding the crops such as pomegranates, pistachios and dates. Hojjati made the remarks in a meeting with his visiting Italian counterpart Maurizio Martina. "President Rouhani's first trip, after JCPOA implementation, was to Italy indicating Iran's political will in the economic sphere," he noted. He added the agreements will be inked in the fields of promoting agricultural machinery technology, food industry and empowering the private sector. Hojjati underlined that Iran and Italy enjoy good relations in agricultural areas and the activists of the two countries are fully aware of each other’s potentials. He said the private sectors of the two countries can play a key role in expansion of economic bilateral relations.