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The president of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Mines, Yahya Ale-Eshagh, said on Monday that he hoped India and Iran would better their trade ties in spite of mounting pressure against it from the United States of America (USA). A 56-member delegation, led by Ale-Eshagh, arrived here on Sunday (May 06) for fresh round of talks to develop bilateral trade via a rupee mechanism set up to skirt sanctions. A previous trade mission of Indian businesses to Iran in March had proved unproductive. Ale-Eshagh said that both India and Iran needed a good trade partnership to boost their growth. "I am sure that the future of Indo-Iranian trade is very good due to the current ituation, because India is growing and in need of good trade partners and Iran is also undergoing a phase of growth and development," he said. On the subject of mounting U.S. pressure for India to cut oil imports from Iran , Ale-Eshagh sounded a dismissive note. "Our trade problems will be resolved in spite of the efforts of those who oppose us. Economics does its own work, trade does its own work and politicians do their own work," he said. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who arrived in India on the same day as the Iranian delegation stepped up pressure on India on Monday to further reduce its Iranian oil imports, making clear Washington wanted to see further action before granting New Delhi a waiver from U.S. financial sanctions.

Iran hopes to improve bilateral trade with India despite US opposition