Iran, India to form joint committee for agricultural coop.

Iran’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mohammad Mehdi Borumandi, who has traveled to New Delhi to hold talks on the agricultural cooperation between Iran and India, met Manoj Ahuja, secretary of India’s Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

The two sides reviewed the latest status of bilateral cooperation in the field of agriculture.

Borumandi stressed Iran’s readiness for cooperation in the fields of horticultural products, medicinal plants, joint efforts to combat plant pests, agricultural technologies, exchange of professors and experts, and cooperation between research institutions of the two countries.

He considered the removal of tariff barriers on agricultural trade as a necessity for the future expansion of relations.

Manoj Ahuja, for his part, highlighted the cultural and geographical affinities between the two nations and expressed his country’s readiness to develop agricultural relations with Iran.

The Indian official announced that the ban on the exports of kiwi to India, which had been temporarily prohibited since last year due to quarantine considerations, has been lifted.

The two sides also agreed to form a joint committee for agricultural cooperation within the next three months.

SKH/5806392