Seoul Needs to Change Approach for Resumption of Ties With Tehran
Seoul Needs to Change Approach for Resumption of Ties With Tehran
Iran’s market is not like two years ago and if South Korea is eager to resume cooperation with Iran, it should change its approach to Iran’s market.

Seoul Needs to Change Approach for Resumption of Ties With Tehran

IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Deputy Head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) for International Affairs Mohammad-Reza Karbasi says Iran’s market is not like two years ago and if South Korea is eager to resume cooperation with Iran, it should change its approach to Iran’s market.

Iran’s newly appointed commercial counsellor to South Korea Mr. Nikbakht met on Tuesday with Karbasi to review economic potentials of Iran for resumption of trade with South Korea. In the meeting, Karbasi pointed to the positive view of Iran to South Korea for years and criticized weak performance of Seoul in the past two years and highlighted dissatisfaction and regret of the government and economic activists of the private sector.

He went on to say that the trend of cooperation between Tehran and Seoul has always been positive and in some of the years the bilateral trade volume reached 16 to 17 billion dollars. Karbasi added that recent evaluation and conducted polls have shown that in the home appliances sector, producers and consumers have lost their interests to the Korean goods which has been due to the inappropriate behavior of Koreans regarding Iran’s consumption market which officially has pushed the market to boycott South Korean goods by Iranian consumers while we have not asked for any credit for imports and exports and eve not for special support and favor.

In the meeting the issue of Iran’s frozen assets in South Korea was raised and Karbasi pointed to Iran’s exports to South Korea whose money has not been repatriated to the country and been blocked in South Korean banks and South Korean banks have violated their obligations.

He referred to the in vain efforts of efforts for release of Iran assets and urged the government to resolve the issue through talks with their South Korean counterparts.

Karbasi noted that Iranian companies due to suffering losses and pressures are not unhappy and disappointed and are not ready to cooperate with South Korea any longer, adding that while some other Asian countries which are more economically dependent on the U.S. and Western states have always tried to continue trade and boost imports and exports with Iran in the toughest time.

He further said that despite considerable trade relation between both states and Iran’s consuming market for home appliances, luxurious goods, cars and parts, the South Korean government has not been ready to help Iran to release its assets.

Karbasi added that with election of Joe Biden and in the post-Coronavirus era it is possible the economic ties resume and economic activists will try to expand their cooperation with those countries and governments which have sided with them in the hard times. He said that during the sanctions era, major parts of productions especially in the home appliances has improved and they compete with the world standards and today some important Iranian brands have rep[laced South Korean brands and this achievement is most welcomed because before this happens, Iran was only consumer of these commodities but today it is itself producer and it boosts job creation and rise of incomes. He claimed now Iran is among the top tem countries in hoe appliances production.

He added that Iran’s market is not like two years ago and if South Koreans are eager to resume trade ties with Iran they should change their approach because they will not any longer be able to flood their goods into our consuming market and they should cooperate in form of the joint cooperation and through the transfer of technology, knowhow and production in Iran for domestic production or export to the countries in the region.

Karbasi said that he has recently heard good news about Iran’s frozen assets in South Korea saying that South Korean have announced readiness to pay their debts in the form of providing Iran with its needed goods like foodstuff and medicines.