Cuban Vice President of the Council of Ministers Ricardo Cabrisas and Iran's visiting Vice President for International Affairs Ali Saeedlou expressed their countries' willingness to raise economic ties to the same level as their political ties, the state-run daily Granma reported Wednesday.

Cabrisas said Cuba was interested in promoting bilateral economic and trade ties with Iran, while the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's special envoy said economic and trade exchange could match their strong political ties if the two countries overcome "difficulties hindering that mutual goal."

Both nations are grappling with the effects of economic sanctions imposed by the United States.

The newspaper said Saeedlou, who arrived in Cuba Monday, also met with the Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Rodrigo Malmierca and is expected to meet with Cuban leader Raul Castro before the end of his trip.

Havana and Tehran established diplomatic ties for the first time in 1975. A year later, the government of the Shah decided to break off ties, but the relationship resumed in 1979, after a popular revolution toppled the monarchy.

The two nations maintain cooperation agreements in the fields of agriculture, education, engineering and biotechnology, among others, with bilateral trade reaching 60 million US dollars in 2011, according to the latest official figures.