Iran has expressed its intention to do barter with the Philippines in the agriculture sector.
During his courtesy call to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Thursday, Aug. 17, Iranian Ambassador Yousef Esmaeilzadeh pitched the possibility of the two countries engaging in barter.
Esmaeilzadeh raised the possibility of organizing a barter, with Iran sending the Philippines fertilizer as well as importing its tropical fruits.
Marcos told him that the Philippines’ number one priority at present is agriculture, as it tries to adjust to the agricultural terrain around the world with all the volatility in the global food supply system.
“The Philippines now is continuing to foster new partnerships between what we have come to call non-traditional partners. It is a lesson that we have learned from the pandemic when the time came when trade or all the exchanges had to stop for reasons of health and we realize that we have to build up the agricultural economy so that we can support at least as a foundation for the rest of the development of our economy,” Marcos told Esmaeilzadeh.
The President also said that the country will be open to initiate high-level contacts to discuss other areas of cooperation such trade and investment, technology, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.
He further said that the existing memorandum of understanding (MOUs) agreed by the two countries could serve as a good basis for all their future collaborations in many areas
These include nano-technology programs, biomedical devices, science and technology, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.
“So, there is a lot of green space for us to begin our work and I hope that with your assumption of the duty as the ambassador that we will be able to explore many of these possibilities. And, hopefully, we will come to some specific and constructive arrangements for our two countries. I look forward to those discussions, Mr. Ambassador,” Marcos said.
Esmaeilzadeh, for his part, said Iran has been focusing on Asia especially in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as it develops its economy.
“So, in that, we have a good relation with some other members of the ASEAN. So, we’d like to increase trade and economic relations between Iran and the Philippines. In that case, we can do several economic subject,” he said.
The two countries can also cooperate on science, and maritime security wherein, he said, Iran is doing very well.
The two nations can also start people-to-people exchanges that cover different fields.
“So, this is our idea. We can do well to develop our relationship. So, as you know, we are [celebrating] our 60th anniversary in January next year. If possible, we can do very well to exchange high-level delegations. More than 20 years, nearly 30 years, we don’t have high-level delegation,” Esmaeilzadeh said.
The Philippines and Iran established diplomatic relations on January 22, 1964, with the Philippine Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan initially having jurisdiction over Iran. On August 16, 1974, the Philippines established its resident embassy in Tehran.
There are currently 1,181 Filipinos in Iran. Of this number, 999 are permanent migrants (mostly married to Iranian nationals), 124 are documented or temporary migrants, and 59 are undocumented.
The Philippines and Iran have a long history of science and technology cooperation, with both countries signing an MOU on scientific and technical cooperation in 1964, which was renewed several times.
In 2019, the Philippines and Iran signed the MOU on Science and Technology Cooperation, which covers several priority areas such as agriculture and biotechnology, medicine and pharmaceuticals, and nanotechnology.
The Master of Science in Nanotechnology program; procurement of biomedical devices; and acquisition of Tocilizumab vials are currently the three projects under the Philippines-Iran partnership.