The new Indian ambassador to Iran visited the Tehran Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCIMA) at the beginning of his mission and met with its chairman. During this meeting, while discussing the economic potential and history of cooperation between Iran and India, both sides emphasized the need to resume and develop trade relations, as well as utilize the opportunities provided by BRICS.
On the agenda for both parties was developing a schedule for private sector negotiations, conducting specialized courses, exchanging trade delegations, and establishing a direct communication channel to monitor and implement agreements.
Vishvesh Negi, the new Indian ambassador to Iran, discussed mechanisms for strengthening economic interaction between the two countries during his meeting with Mohammad Najafi-Arab, Chairman of the Chamber, in the presence of Fereydoun Vardinajad, Secretary General, and Hossemeddin Khaladj, Deputy for International Affairs and Trade Development of the Chamber, Zeinab Davoudi, an expert on India from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as representatives from the commercial department of the Indian Embassy in Iran. He identified increasing awareness and synergy among private sector participants as one way to advance exchanges between Iran and India.
Mohammad Najafi-Arab, Chairman of the Chamber, began the meeting by referencing the historical experience of cultural and economic contacts, as well as the membership of Iran and India in BRICS, speaking about the importance of deepening interaction between the countries. He added that the Chamber recently joined the BRICS Trade Council, and its representatives recently participated in a BRICS Trade Council meeting in India, where they presented their views on various trade issues.
The Chairman of the Chamber stated the Chamber's readiness to increase cooperation with the Indian private sector. He noted that Iran and India possess significant potential for developing economic ties in areas such as pharmaceutical raw materials and medicine, food and agriculture, components, and industrial raw materials. However, the current trade volume between the countries, amounting to about $1.5 billion, is significantly lower than the available potential. Despite this, the private sectors of both countries can contribute to deepening economic relations and sustainably increasing bilateral trade through strengthening trade, joint investments, and industrial cooperation.
He also drew attention to the difficulties and challenges of trade with India under current conditions, stressing the need to develop and utilize alternative transport corridors and new logistics routes to accelerate and facilitate trade operations.
Vishvesh Negi, the Indian Ambassador to Iran, also described one of the objectives of his mission in his remarks as developing trade and economic relations between the two countries. He explained that previously, trade turnover between Iran and India reached approximately $20 billion, but this figure has significantly decreased, falling far short of the potential and prospects existing in both countries. He also pointed out some obstacles to trade and emphasized the need to find practical solutions to promote economic relations and utilize the potential of bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
The Indian Ambassador to Iran proposed several measures, such as holding B2B trade meetings and creating opportunities for joint cooperation between companies in the private sectors of Iran and India, stating that 'the development of economic exchanges between the two countries is possible through holding B2B trade meetings and creating opportunities for joint cooperation between companies in the private sectors of Iran and India.' Among the proposed measures were direct links between the embassy and chambers of commerce, providing opportunities for trade delegations to attend exhibitions, conducting webinars to understand market needs, and short-term training programs.
Vishvesh Negi considered the development of trade with Iran a strategic advantage for both countries. In another part of his speech, he mentioned the opportunities arising from multilateral cooperation and announced that the Indian Embassy in Tehran would soon hold a meeting to present BRICS achievements and programs for 2026, which would serve as a basis for synergy and establishing connections between Indian companies and Iranian economic entities interested in cooperation. He noted that the holding of over 420 expert meetings within BRICS and the final summit declaration demonstrate the diversity and high potential of trade cooperation, and he hopes that member countries will expand their trade horizons by utilizing this potential.
The Indian Ambassador officially invited members of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce to participate in this event, emphasizing that the presence of private sector economic actors at this meeting could be a prelude to defining joint projects and leveraging the economic advantages of BRICS member countries.
In another part of the meeting, Fereydoun Vardinajad, Secretary General of the Chamber, called for strengthening the link between the embassy and the Chamber as the parliament of the private sector and invited the Indian ambassador to visit Iran Expo 1405 to strengthen trade and economic partnership. Vardinajad also invited Vishvesh Negi to attend the opening of the Iran Pharma exhibition as one of the largest events in the pharmaceutical field, noting that Indian pharmaceutical companies would also be represented at this exhibition.
At the conclusion of the meeting, both sides agreed on the necessity of developing a schedule for trade negotiations between the private sectors of Iran and India, conducting specialized courses, exchanging trade delegations, and establishing a direct communication channel for subsequent monitoring of agreements, expressing hope for further development of economic cooperation.
