Tehran Times reported that Mr Ali Akbar Mehrabian industries and mines minister of Iran met with Mr Luis Arce Catacora economy minister of Bolivia in Tehran discussing possible ways to expand industrial cooperation.

Mr Mehrabian said that his country pursues establishing a strategic relation with Bolivia which has the potentiality to become an industrial hub in the Latin America, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported.

Meanwhile, Mr Abolfath Ebrahimi MD of Tabriz Tractor Manufacturing Company said that the company is ready to set up a tractor production line in Bolivia. We are also prepared to train Bolivian experts and transfer necessary technology to that country.

Juan Evo Morales president of Bolivia who is visiting Iran's northwestern city of Tabriz on the first day of his Iranian tour called for transfer of Iran's tractor producing technology to his country. Mr Morales also ordered to buy some 1,000 tractors from Tabriz Tractor Manufacturing Company.

He said that Iran's tractors are more compatible with Bolivian geographical conditions. The Bolivian president is in Iran for a three-day visit with the goal of strengthening bilateral ties and is seeking more Iranian investment in the South American country.

In 2007, President Mr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became the first Iranian chief executive to visit Bolivia. During the trip, the 2 countries signed an agreement on conducting joint projects to be worth USD 1.1 billion over the next 5.

(Sourced from Tehran Times)