India trade mission to Iran ‘very successful’

A major Indian trade delegation to Iran to explore export opportunities created by US-led sanctions against the Islamic republic was a big success, a leader of the mission has said. The 80-member delegation spent five days in the Persian Gulf nation last week to boost Indian exports as a way of paying the country’s huge oil bill to Iran.

“The visit was very good and very successful,” said Rafeeque Ahmed, president of the government-backed Federation of Indian Export Organisations, which spearheaded the mission.

“We saw a lot of interest from the Iranians in buying Indian goods,” Ahmed told AFP late Saturday.

“We talked about the excellent opportunities in food grains, food processing, pharmaceuticals, auto parts and other areas.”

India has been walking a diplomatic tightrope as it seeks to drum up more exports orders from Iran while managing its growing relations with the United States and keeping ties on an even keel with Israel, a top arms supplier.

Fuel-scarce India buys around $11 billion worth of oil from Iran a year -- its second-largest crude supplier after Saudi Arabia -- but sells Tehran just $2.7 billion in goods. The trade mission, headed by Indian Joint Commerce Secretary Arvind Mehta, came as the intensifying sanctions campaign dries up dollar and euro payment routes that India has been using to pay for Iranian oil imports.

- AFP