Iran, Algeria Ink 19 MoUs on Auto Industry Cooperation

Tehran and Algiers signed over a dozen agreements on production of Iranian vehicles in the North African state, AVA Diplomatic reports.

A sum of 19 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) were penned in Tehran on Tuesday in the presence of Iranian Minister of Industry, Trade and Mine Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh and his Algerian counterpart Abdeslam Bouchouareb.

The MoUs allow a number of Iranian automakers to gain a foothold in North Africa where they will manufacture cars, vans and trucks.

Nematzadeh said that there are no restrictions facing cooperation between Iranian and Algerian companies.

Bouchouareb, who is in Iran at the head of 100 delegates from Algerian companies, said the trip has provided a good opportunity to get acquainted with Iranian capabilities and weigh plans for closer cooperation.

In late February, Iranian Ambassador to Algiers Reza Ameri called on Algerian entrepreneurs and companies to visit Tehran to step up efforts to boost economic cooperation between the two countries.

Addressing the Algerian-Iranian Business Forum in Algiers, Ambassador Ameri outlined the existing capacities in Iranian economy, trade and technology, noting that the two sides have a lot to gain by broadening trade and economic cooperation in the fields.

He noted that the economic cooperation does not reflect the huge potentialities of the two countries, and called for intensifying efforts and boosting the existing mechanisms in order to develop the economic relations.

Also speaking at the forum, Chairman of the Iran-Algeria Joint Commission Abdul-Majeed Khabzi said he was surprised to see Iran’s great economic achievements during his recent visit to Tehran, adding that the private sector in Algeria is willing to open a new chapter in ties with their Iranian counterparts.

Ambassador Ameri, likewise, said the two countries should increase the current value of bilateral trade, adding that the two sides have signed 9 cooperation agreements in banking, business and trade to this end.

He said the grounds have been paved for the two sides to strengthen cooperation in other fields as well, including agricultural machinery manufacturing, renewable energies, food packaging, textiles and petrochemicals.