Iran, Vietnam pledge $2bln trade boost

HANOI: Vietnam and Iran pledged Thursday to boost future trade to $2 billion, as Tehran seeks to jump-start its sputtering economy after crippling international sanctions were lifted this year.

Iran´s moderate President Hassan Rouhani, in Vietnam on a three-country swing through Southeast Asia, has come under fire from conservative critics who say the nuclear deal signed with world powers has failed to bring a hoped-for economic boom.

Rouhani, who was elected on a promise to normalise relations with the outside world, praised ties with Vietnam Thursday after both sides signed several deals.

"The two sides agreed to increase bilateral trade turnover to $2 billion," the Iranian president told reporters in Hanoi.

Trade between Iran and Vietnam hit $350 million last year, according to Iran´s official IRNA news agency.

The landmark nuclear deal -- which was reached in July 2015 and came into force in January -- saw sanctions against Iran lifted in exchange for curbing Tehran´s nuclear programme, opening up one of the world´s last untapped markets for global business.