Iran, India increase trade exchanges

During the talks, the two sides agreed to increase their trade balance to $25 billion and to boost the level of non-oil trade from the current $4 billion to $10 billion. The current trade balance between Tehran and New Delhi stands at $14 billion. As regards results of the six-day visit to Mumbai and New Delhi by the Iranian delegation, Secretary-General of Tehran's Chamber of Commerce Mohammad Mehdi Rasekh said that an agreement was also signed according to which Iran can import some industrial items in the oil and gas sector from India. Rasekh added that energy was one of the most important issues discussed by the two sides. The Iranian side said that New Delhi has maintained its independence by refusing to surrender to Western pressures to cut ties with Tehran. The Iranian delegation paid a reciprocal visit after an Indian team of businessmen visited Tehran in March to showcase their products. But in the subsequent follow-on meetings, both sides realized that it was not sustainable to depend on Indian exports alone which would be basically payment for Iranian oil that could not be sent through international financial channels. It was also necessary for Iranian businessmen to meet a wider cross section of Indian industry. Earlier on Wednesday, India's Deputy National Security Advisor Latar Reddy in a meeting with Undersecretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Baqeri described Iran as a stable and reliable source of energy supplies for her country. "India assumes the Islamic Republic of Iran as its stable source of energy supply," Reddy said in Tehran.