Mohammad Ali Nikbakht, Minister of Agricultural Jihad, during a meeting with Vladimir Orlich, Speaker of the Parliament of Serbia and the accompanying delegation, said: Iran and Serbia have a historic friendly relationship and we are trying to extend this relationship stronger than in the past. in economic fields, particularly in agriculture.
He added: Iran occupies a privileged geographical position which can play an effective role in relation to Eastern Europe, especially Serbia.
The Minister of Agricultural Jihad said: The Iranian government is emphasizing the expansion of relations with friendly countries, we have good experience in various fields of agriculture, in the field of fisheries, aquaculture and fishing, regarding access to open waters in Oman, the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea We have a good location in the north.
Stating that the Iranian fisheries sector is one of the best areas for investment, Nikbakht invited Serbian investors to invest in the field of fisheries and aquaculture in Iran.
In addition, the exchange of our experience between Iran and Serbia in the field of agriculture and science will be useful to both countries.
Stating that we rank first to eighth in the world for some horticultural products, he said, "We rank first in pistachio cultivation and second in production. And we can export these products to Serbia. ".
He invited the Minister of Agriculture of Serbia to visit Iran and continued: There is a suitable area for investment in Iran in the field of processing of agricultural products and development of processing and complementary industries. .
Nikbakht underlined: We must move towards the operationalization of the agreements between the presidents of the two countries, measures have been taken, but they are not enough and must be developed.
He continued: A significant part of Iranian phosphate fertilizer comes from Serbia, and given the high volume of urea production in Iran, we are ready to buy phosphate fertilizer in exchange for urea fertilizer from Serbia.
The Minister of Agriculture of Jihad added: This is a good opportunity to provide basic inputs such as seeds so that we can have trade in the field of seed science and preparation.
Regarding the import of soybean meal and corn, he also said: We are ready to meet Iran's needs for soybean meal, corn and meat via Serbia.
The need to increase the volume of trade between the two countries
   During this meeting, the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament, Vladimir Orlić, declared that the relations between the two countries are based on mutual interests.
Affirming that the consolidation of relations is a great will adopted by public and private institutions of our country, he continued: The policy of consolidation and expansion of relations is followed by the Presidency and the Parliament of Serbia. All our efforts are focused on the agreements between the two presidents, and the visit of the Serbian parliamentary delegation is a confirmation of the continuation of this agreement.
Regarding the issues raised during the Iranian Foreign Minister's visit to Serbia, Orlich said: Expanding cooperation in the agricultural sector is one of the highlights of the Iranian Foreign Minister's visit to Serbia.
In addition, during the meeting with the Minister of Agriculture of Serbia, agreements were reached regarding trade exchanges of meat, oil and corn.
Highlighting the expansion of economic and agricultural exchanges with Iran, he said: One of these agreements that is in progress is the export of phosphate fertilizers to Iran, and we are ready to increase exchanges in other sectors such as fishing, garden products and processing. .
The Speaker of the Parliament of Serbia added: the interests of both parties demand that the volume of trade between the two countries increase, and a large volume of this trade in goods will come from the agricultural sector, and we will approve investment for both sides in parliament.
He continued: A joint economic commission will be held soon, and one of the most important issues of this commission is the agricultural sector, and we agree that economic activists from the public and private sectors should be active in these areas.