The two ministers signed the minutes of the meeting recording new initiatives and commitments- Photo:nongnghiep.vn

(VOVworld)- Iranian Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Mehdi Ghazanfari and Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat co-chaired the 8^th meeting of the Vietnam-Iran Joint Committee on Economics and Trade in Hanoi yesterday. The two sides agreed to accelerate cooperation to bring two-way trade to 500 million USD per year. Vietnam asked Iran to import Vietnamese rice and other food, and provide Vietnam a list of enterprises involved with metals, minerals, chemicals and agricultural products. Iran wants to import Vietnamese rice, fish, rubber, footwear, garments and textiles and asked Vietnam to import petroleum and petrochemicals. The two ministers signed the minutes of the meeting recording new initiatives and commitments. The same day, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Huynh Vinh Ai and Vice President of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation Karim Najafi Barzegar signed a memorandum of understanding on cultural cooperation.