Since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties on August 4, 1973, Vietnam and Iran have made great strides in variety of fields of politics, economy and trade, culture, education, and science and technology.

Iran wants to work with Vietnam on industry, petroleum, construction, transport, cement production and fertiliszer, which are also the Middle Eastern country’s strengths. Iran is also keen to import more farm produce from Vietnam.

However, statistics show Vietnam – Iran economic links remains limited and far from matching their full potential.

Two-way trade increased from US$6.5 million in 2001 to US$185.6 million in 2011, of which Vietnam’s exports accounted for 72.3%.

Due to the US embargo on Iran, the Danan oil field – a project signed between the PetroVietnam Exploration and Production Corporation and the National Iranian Oil Company, halted its operation.After economic sanctions against Iran were lifted this January and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action between Tehran and the P5+1 countries, including the US, Russia, UK, France, China and Germany took effect last July, the gate to global economic integration has become wider for Iran, bringing opportunities to global partners, including Vietnam.

With a population of 80 million, Iran is considered a major Middle East market, while Vietnam is a gateway to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Over the past five years, Vietnam's main exports were seafood, rice, tea, coffee, pepper, cashew nuts, ratten and bamboo items, rubber, plastics, spare parts, electronic accessories, and garments to Iran and it imported plastic materials, petrochemical products, metal, wheat, textile-leather and footwear.

During meetings between the leaders, Vietnam and Iran expressed a wish to lift ties to a higher level for the benefit of the two peoples, particularly in the areas of oil and gas, industry, agriculture, and finance and banking.

On the sidelines of the Asia-Africa Summit in Jakarta last April, President Sang and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani pledged to facilitate their business communities aiming to raise two-way trade to a greater height in the future.

The Irani government has offered incentives that attract foreign direct investment and adopted technological advances. It is currently upgrading oil and gas and socio-economic infrastructure at a cost of hundreds of billions USD – more attention will be given to oil and gas, aviation, mining and steel.

As a natural resource rich country in the Middle East, Iran ranks fourth globally in terms of crude oil production and second in fuel reserves, accounting for over 10% and 18.2% of the world’s total, respectively.

Iran is also the second largest economy in the Middle East – Northern Africa region, with a total gross domestic product of more than US$400 billion behind only Saudi Arabia.

The Iran visit by President Truong Tan Sang is part of his African and Middle East tour from March 9-15.