NEW DELHI, Aug 30 (Bernama) — Iran expects to sign a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with India by 2019-end to slash tariffs on a variety of products.
“A delegation will come to India in two to three weeks. This is the last round of negotiations,” Iran’s ambassador to India Ali Chegeni told Bernama.
Bilateral trade was US$17.5 billion in 2018, posting an increase of about 30 per cent from 2017.
There is a potential to increase trade volume to US$50 billion per year in the long-term, Chegeni earlier said at a business forum in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Although tough US sanctions against Iran have hit huge Indian oil imports, their trade covers a wide range of products.
The ambassador said Iran and India should consider barter trade in agriculture goods and pharmaceuticals.
Iran hopes the planned opening of a Bank Pasargad branch in Mumbai will help in trade settlements that face obstacles at present due to the US financial measures against Tehran.
The Iranian bank was given permission by the Reserve Bank of India in March to open its branch.
— NNN-BERNAMA
