India-Iran Bilateral Trade To Be Doubled Within Next Five Years, Says Suresh Prabhu

Suresh Prabhu the Commerce and Industry Minister on Friday (7 September) pitched to double the bilateral trade with Iran within the next five years from the current number of $13.8 billion reports Energy Infra Post.

Strategies to boost trade and investment between the two countries were discussed during a meeting between Suresh Prabhu and Iranian Minister of Road and Urban Development Abbas Ahmad Akhoundi.

The meeting is crucial to both nations as the US has recently imposed sanctions on Iran. The US has urged India and other countries to cut oil imports from Iran to zero by 4 November or face sanctions.

Following the meeting between the two ministers, Prabhu tweeted that "Our discussions were centered on expanding bilateral ties between India and Iran beyond the energy and security sector."

Iran is India's third-largest oil supplier behind Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Bilateral trade between India and India grew to $13.8 billion in 2017-18 from $12.9 billion in the previous fiscal. However, India's exports goods were worth only $2.65 billion, while the imports stood at $11.11 billion.