Iran and Australia reliable partners

"Iran and Australia are reliable partners and can expand their interactions despite the existence of some opposition," Rasekh said in a meeting with Australian Envoy to Tehran Marc Innes-Brown. He pointed to the current global economic crisis and the European states' financial problems, and noted, "The bad economic conditions in the world do not allow countries like Australia and Iran to ignore each other." "At present both countries are interested to expand and develop their bilateral economic relations," he added. Brown, for his part, hoped for a long-term expansion of economic ties between the two countries, and said his country is currently exporting wheat and meat to Iran in a bid to expand its economic relations with the Islamic Republic. Iran was ranked 53rd among the main exporters to Australia, and stood in the 50th place among the main importers from the country in 2010. The Islamic Republic also imported about $180 million worth of goods from Australia in 2010. The main imported products included meat, medicines, wheat, and wool.