TEHRAN (Iran News) –Head of the Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce believes Iran’s membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) cannot miracle in the short term and it needs time to show its effects.
Speaking to Tasnim News, Majid-Reza Hariri touched upon the economic effects of Iran’s joining the SCO and said that in 2035, five out of ten world big economies will be from Asia but we should not expect immediate effect of this membership like the decrease in prices, like dollar rate, in the market.
He added that although the foundation of the SCO is based on security and military relations, there is today in the world no treaty without economic aspect.
He emphasized that the economic impacts of the membership in the SCO cannot appear soon and it needs long time. Hariri added that the country is currently in the economic war condition and the enemy actually has taken its political, religious and military problems to the scene of economy. He added that the main goal of the U.S. and Western countries is to isolate Iran and this isolation will definitely have very bad economic consequences.
He emphasized that joining to any treaty like bilateral, multilateral, regional or international will save Iran from the economic isolation, adding that so we should not immediately expect the direct impact of this membership in the short term and while big countries are trying to restrict Iran through sanctions, joining to such organizations can show Iran’s interaction with the world in the international public opinion.
He further said that three big world economies China, India and Russia in this treat are among 17 countries that Iran had set targets for boosting trade with them and the membership can be a ground for boosting ties with them.
He reiterated that economic look to the East is a futuristic look, adding that according to predicts of economic elites of the world, by 2023 five out of ten big economies of the world will be from Asia and therefore we should not seek immediate impact of the joining to the SCO.
Hariri claimed that political-economic geography of the world is changing from the West to the East, adding that Iran is trying to improve its ties with the East Asian countries and expressed hope the ties with Japan and South Korea would also get better.
He added that now Iran’s signature for joining of the Persian Gulf littoral states to the SCO will be very important and they will need Iran’s approval.
Meanwhile Head of Iran Export Confederation Mr. Mohammad Lahooti said that joining the SCO can have good advantages for Iran but Iran’s avoiding joining the FATF can reduce trade of the SCO members with Iran.
He said that many countries and companies are not ready for headache because of trade with Iran without this country’s presence in the FATF system. He added that some Chinese companies, because of the FATF issue, export their products via the third party country, the UAE. He emphasized that sanctions will be still problem for Iran’s trade, adding that the SCO is actually an intergovernmental treaty and therefore the private sector reacts not too much to this membership.
