By Khairdzir Yunus, NNN-Bernama
Tehran : Malaysian Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has proposed the setting up of a joint business council between the private sectors of Iran and Malaysia.
He made the proposal when he called on Iranian First Vice-President Dr Parviz Davoudi here Thursday. Muhyiddin is leading a delegation from his ministry on a five-day visit to Iran.
He said the setting up of such a council would facilitate efforts to increase bilateral trade. “I agree that a lot more has to be done to increase the trade volume between Iran and Malaysia,” he said in response to Dr Dovoudi’s suggestion that both countries must work together to increase the level of trade which was currently very low.
Muhyiddin said the move to set up a joint business council was also in line with the Malaysian government’s policy of placing importance on the role of the private sector as one of the driving forces of the country’s economy.
He said his visit to Iran, which began Monday, had been fruitful and that he had had useful discussions with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad-Reza Eskandari. Iran and Malaysia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on agricultural co-operation here later.
Dr Davoudi welcomed the signing of the MoU as it represented a good beginning and he believed that there was a lot more room for collaboration by both sides. “On behalf of the (Iranian) government, we will fully support the action and I am sure that we will witness a reciprocal support from the Government of Malaysia,” he said.
He said the MoU would be a milestone for collaborations in other fields between the two countries in future. He also welcomed the setting up of a business council between Iran and Malaysia.