TEHRAN, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Iran and Saudi Arabia will open a joint chamber of commerce soon, an Iranian business leader revealed on Monday.
Keyvan Kashefi, a member of the presiding board of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA), said during a meeting that ICCIMA is following up on the launch of the joint chamber of commerce.
Iran plans to begin the exchange of business delegations with Saudi Arabia immediately after the reopening of the embassies in the two countries and the reinstatement of their ambassadors, he added.
Kashefi said the normalization of ties between Tehran and Riyadh has been Iran's main political and economic issue over the past 30 days. He added that Iran's private sector welcomed the "constructive and positive" interaction with Saudi Arabia and had started to plan for more economic cooperation.
The Iranian business leader said the two countries' decision to normalize relations has had very positive effect on Iran's economy and been a very useful mechanism, expressing hope that Iran's positive interactions with other counties would continue.
Kashefi noted that Iran and Saudi Arabia have great potential for cooperation in the oil, gas, petrochemical and technological sectors.
China, Saudi Arabia and Iran announced on March 10 that the latter two had reached a deal which includes the agreement to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and missions within two months.
Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016 in response to the attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran after the kingdom executed a Shiite cleric. ■
