Eurasia Press & News
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran and Cuba concluded their 13th joint cooperation commission meeting by signing a memorandum of understanding to bolster cooperation.
Among the key decisions made during the joint meeting was to increase Iran’s credit ceiling to Cuba to 500 million euros ($768.4 million), a move supported by the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and approved during a special session of Iran’s Cabinet, according to IRIB.
By signing the MoU, both countries will expand their industrial and trade cooperation across basic industries such as mining, transportation, construction, banking, health services, medical, biotechnology, agriculture and animal husbandry.
The agreement also covers cooperation between state-run radio and television networks in both countries as well as higher education, press tv said.
Iran’s Minister of Industries and Mines, Ali Akbar Mehrabian, headed the Iranian delegation at the 13th joint cooperation commission meeting and Cuban Minister of government Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz headed the Cuban side during the two-day joint session.
Mehrabian told an audience at the concluding session that a similarity in “outlooks” on international issues enabled cooperation between Iran and Cuba.
Continued cooperation on major industrial projects and an expansion of relations between Iran and Cuba act as a “model” for developing nations as well as for the “non-aligned movement”, Mehrabian said.
Mehrabian asked Cuba to accelerate finalization of two prior agreements, one aimed at avoiding double taxation and another on tariff cooperation with Iran.
The current trade volume between Iran and Cuba is at 213 million euros ($327.3 million).
Both sides agreed that their ambassadors hold a regular meeting every three months to follow up the implementation of the MoU and that the secretaries of the joint commission on both sides meet every six months.
