TEHRAN (Iran News) – Chairman of Iran-UAE Joint Chamber of Commerce Farshid Farzanegan says Expo 2020 Dubai may accelerate the trade between Iran and the UAE and the bilateral trade volume can increase by 25 percent.

Speaking during a press conference on Tuesday, Farzanegan, who is also in charge of Expo Committee of Iran Chamber of Commerce, said that despite several problems like the pandemic and the financial problems, the committee began its work officially last December although it had kicked of its work in 2019, adding that despite some pauses, the committee officially began its work last December. He added that the location of Iran’s pavilion in the Expo is exceptional and it can be sign of active economic diplomacy through meetings and B2Bs.

He added that the committee has plans for each week of the six-month expo that one can see them from mid-October.

Farzanegan went on to say that the committee has asked those who have enough preparation to partake in this event. He added that several countries have announced their readiness to participate in some programs organized by the committee. He noted that soon Head of Iran Chamber of Commerce Gholam-Hossein Shafei will have a visit to Dubai soon and the committee invites all fields of the private sector to have active presence in any section of the expo like virtual exhibition, dispatching and trade delegation.

Reacting to some media reports that the organizers of the Expo are to hand over all details and information of the participating companies to Israel, he said after studies and probes by the foreign ministry and Iranian diplomats, it was learned that the reports have been fully baseless.

Farzanegan went on to say that by partaking in the Expo it is expected the trade between Iran and the UAE would increase between 20 to 25 percent by the yearend. He admitted that unfortunately some travel agencies misuse from this Expo event, reiterating that the agencies are not in charge of dispatching the delegations and companies to this event and only certain operators appointed by the committee are in charge of dispatches.

Meanwhile speaking during the press conference, Hassan Zamani underlined the economic, cultural, social and political significance of the Expo, saying that some 198 countries will participate in the event.

Based on the planning, each Iranian province will be granted one week to showcase its capacities at Expo 2020 Dubai, according to the managing director of Iran International Exhibitions Company Mr. Zamani.

Expo 2020 in Dubai runs from October 1, 2021 until March 31, 2022.

Zamani said that Iran’s pavilion at the Expo will open on October 2 with the virtual presence of the Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade.

Referring to Iran’s agenda at the event, he said that Iran is firstly focused on non-oil exports which are predicted to hit $100 billion and then the country will seek to observe investments for different projects.

Iran has spent the least money on designing its pavilion in comparison with other participating countries, he said, however noting that the Iranian pavilion has been selected among the top eight pavilions in the event.