Bangerter made the remarks as he met with Samad Hassanzadeh, the head of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA), in Tehran on Sunday.

“My first priority is to improve the level of cooperation between Iran and Switzerland,” he said, adding that “The second priority is to support Swiss companies active in Iran that seek to expand their activities.”

Stating that the bilateral trade has gradually increased in the past five years, the envoy said that to make it more dynamic, there is a need to solve two issues the companies face, that is, “their access to foreign exchange for imports to Iran and their intellectual property rights.”

For his part, Hassanzadeh emphasized the need to expand economic, scientific, and academic cooperation between Iran and Switzerland, saying his country has the potential to develop relations in these fields.

Calling free trade zones a good opportunity for investment, he stressed that Iranian and Swiss companies can start joint ventures, especially in non-sanctioned areas.

Despite many restrictions, the head of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce said the Islamic Republic has made progress in the fields of advanced technologies and knowledge-based products, including petrochemical and polymer products, as well as medical and pharmaceutical industries.