Iran and India can boost their economic ties by identifying new areas of cooperation like IT and automobiles, a senior Iranian official has said.

Mohammad Nahavandian, head of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines (ICCIM), made the remarks during a meeting with the Indian ambassador to Iran, Manbir Singh in Tehran yesterday.

Nahavandian said Tehran and New Delhi should focus on their thriving sectors such as Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to boost bilateral economic ties.

In his meeting, Nahavandian called the 21st century the century of the rise of Asia, adding that the 19th century was Europe’s, the 20th was the United States’, and the 21st belongs to Asia.

Therefore, Asian states must lend a hand to each other to further develop and progress, like the Europeans did.

He added that most of Europe’s economic deals are done in the same continent, so Asian states should also put emphasis on deals in Asia.

“European countries have the biggest transactions among themselves. We Asians also should focus on inter-Asian investments and trade,” Nahavandian said.