The two countries have the potential to increase joint commerce, chairman of Tehran’s Commerce Chamber said.
“Commerce chambers are the most trusted channels of communication which Iran and Lithuania can employ to boost their trade ties,” Masoud Khansari told the visiting CEO of Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce Rimantas Sidlauskas.
A Lithuanian trade delegation visited Iran last week to hold talks with Iranian businesspeople in a bid to expand their trade in Iran after the sanctions relief.
"Lithuania can act like the gateway for Iran's entry to Europe and despite low-level trade between the two countries in recent years, there are huge potentialities for expansion of business for the two states," said Khansari.
Lithuania and Iran can be trade partners, he added, as there are fertile grounds for cooperation like in the petrochemical industry.
Sidlauskas welcomed new opportunities of bilateral trade with Iran in the post-sanctions period.
He said he first came to Iran 5 years ago as the head of the Lithuanian chamber of commerce and signed an agreement with his then Iranian counterpart which was never implemented because of the sanctions.
"We hope now that the sanctions are being lifted, trade between the two countries grows and new economic ties are signed by the two of them," he said.
An Iranian company which has signed an agreement with Lithuania is scheduled to meet the prime minister to encourage bilateral trade, said Sidlauskas.
The Lithuanian businessman also underlined the frequent visits from Iran by western companies in a bid to win shares of Iran's market in the wake of the sanctions relief. "As an EU member, Lithuania is interested in expansion of cooperation with Iran.”.