TEHRAN (Iran News) – Secretary of Association of Iranian Exporters of Technical and Engineering Services claims an Iranian company has been thrown out of a one-billion-dollar project in Afghanistan due to Saudi Arabia’s pressure.
Speaking to ILNA, Bahman Salehi Javid said that the continuation of violence and insecurity is one of the dangers threatening Iranian trade in Afghanistan because international insurance companies avoid insuring Iranian companies and the backing of Iranian insurance companies is not enough to cover all of the risks, adding that if the violence and insecurity continues, Iranian companies will face high risks and will suffer heavy losses.
Speaking on the current condition of exporting technical and engineering services to Afghanistan after recent political developments in this country, Salehi Javid said that Afghanistan is one of the target countries and neighbors, and commonalities in language and culture have paved a good ground for cooperation between the two states but due to the political ups and downs in Afghanistan, Iranian companies feel the heat of these fluctuations and it will increase the risk of presence in this country.
He noted that regarding the Iranian companies’ presence in Afghanistan, the Afghanistan Government is under influence of other countries and rivals, adding that almost one month ago, an Iranian company won a one-billion-dollar project tender in Afghanistan but the company was thrown out of the project because one of the financers of the project was Saudi Arabia.
He reiterated that Iran and the association are keen for Iranian companies’ presence in Afghanistan but due to the recent developments in this country, Iranian companies require to be more cautious for presence in this country and wait for a while until a relatively peace and security is restored in this country for resumption of activities.
Salehi Javid added that recent developments in Afghanistan have increased the risk of trade in this country for Iranian companies, adding that the U.S. pressure as well as banking and insurance problems worsen the condition for trade.
He pointed to the significance of Afghanistan for Iran’s trade, saying that Afghanistan is a market which opens the way for working on other countries like Persian-language countries like Tajikistan or countries like Turkmenistan. He noted although Iran has joint borders with Turkmenistan or Pakistan but it can also pursue trade with them via Afghanistan.
He expressed hope the new government in Iran would pay serious attention to the export of technical and engineering services while currently such an attention is missed in the government’s programs.
Salehi Javid also expressed hope the next government would create a better banking relation with the neighboring states in order that Iranian contractors can have colorful presence in countries for reconstructions or developing infrastructures. He also said neighboring countries have many projects in the pipeline and he expects Iran to account for 10 percent of $1,000b of exports of its neighboring states while currently the figure stands at less than 2 percent.
