Tasnim � Parliament speakers of Iran and Vietnam in a meeting in Russia called for closer economic and industrial cooperation between the two countries, with the Vietnamese side urging efforts to raise the annual bilateral trade to $2 billion.





Iran is ready to expand economic and industrial cooperation with Vietnam, Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said in a meeting with Chairwoman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, on the sidelines of the 137th assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Russia�s St. Petersburg on Sunday.

Larijani also highlighted the grounds available for closer interaction between the private sectors of the two nations.

For her part, the Vietnamese official said Hanoi seeks to raise the value of annual trade with Tehran to $2 billion.

She also stressed the need for the formation of a joint economic commission between the two countries, saying the commission should pave the way for cooperation in various fields, such as oil and gas industry, agriculture and fishery industry.

In March 2016, Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang paid an official visit to Iran. Following comprehensive talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, it was decided that the value of bilateral trade be increased to $2 billion in a five-year period.