Deputy Head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) for International Affairs Mohammad-Reza Karbasi met with Director of Union of Manufacturers and Entrepreneurs of Armenia (UMEA) Gagik Makaryan and during the meeting, both sides explored the economic capacities of the two countries for the future cooperation.

The two sides in the meeting emphasized barter trade as the major way for enhancing trade exchanges between Iran and Armenia and they called for more supports from the central banks of both countries for this mechanism.

In the meeting, Karbasi expressed hope that due to the positive approach of statesmen of Armenia and Iran for strengthening ties, hidden capacities of the two countries would be exploited and economic activists of Iran and Armenia would make the most of this opportunity.

He then briefed the Armenian officials about the actions of ICCIMA as well as the Iran-Armenia Joint Chamber of Commerce for strengthening bilateral relations of both countries.

Karbasi then pointed to the establishment of the Iran-Armenia Joint Chamber of Commerce and its actions, saying that one of the important goals behind the launch of the joint chamber has been to identify capacities ahead of the economies of Iran and Armenia.

He reiterated that Iran enjoys high potentials for production and commercial and agro capacities which can complete the capacities of Armenia and they can be used favorably in line with the bilateral interests of both countries.

He went on to say that Armenia as a member of the Eurasian Economic Union can be a land gateway for Iran for its access to the Eurasian member states, and through launching joint venture companies in the transportation sector, Iran can use this capacity for faster transfer of goods to Eurasia.

Karbasi added that agro and fishery are two intact sectors by both countries and announced the readiness of Iran for cooperation in the aquatic sector. He also pointed to the strong capabilities of Iranian companies active in the technical and engineering sector and announced readiness for implementing joint projects with the Armenians.

He then reiterated that barter trade can be a good and important mechanism for boosting bilateral trade and urged the central banks of both countries for supporting this mechanism.

Then Makaryan, for his part, explained the reason for the launch of the UMEA and said that the goals of the union are in close cooperation with the Armenian government, reiterating that international cooperation and developing exports are the major priorities of the union.

He termed the exchange of technical know-how is of the most important fields for cooperation between Iran and Armenia, reiterating Iran’s capacity in this field is very important for Armenia.

He also urged ICCIMA to prepare a list of Iranian companies which are keen to be active in Armenia. He emphasized that currently there are some dormant factories in Armenia and through cooperation with these companies, the factories can resume their activities, production of joint goods, and their exports could be shaped through cooperation between Armenian and Iranian partners.

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The ICCIMA hosted a meeting on reviewing trade opportunities and capacities between Iran and the UAE with economic activists, members of the joint Iran-UAE Chamber of Commerce, and representatives of economic bodies in presence.

In the meeting, the participants explained the major hurdles in way of developing trade activities between Iran and the UAE and the private sector raised their suggestions for developing relations.

Addressing the meeting, Karbasi said that neither is the UAE willing to ignore Iran’s market nor is Iran to miss the good trade capacities with the UAE. He then pointed to the trade volume between Iran and the UAE in the past, saying that once their trade volume had touched over $30b but unfortunately because of sanctions and other restrictions, the trade volume of both states has declined sharply.

Karbasi added that he believes the trade capacity of Iran and the UAE is more than $30b provided that the ground for trade is laid. He went on to say that the trade between Iran and the UAE is a win-win one and both sides are aware of it and all capacities should be used desirably.

He noted that fortunately there is no restriction from both Iran and the UAE officials for bilateral trade and even despite the UAE’s normalization of ties with the Zionist regime, Iran is keen to develop its trade with the UAE and as soon as the coronavirus pandemic is contained, the exchange of trade delegations will start.

He then pointed to the problems which Iranian traders have faced and called for resolving them through political and economic diplomacy.

Karbasi further said that the trade volume of Iran and the UAE was $14b last year and the trade balance was in favor of the UAE but the trade volume has declined to $9b in the first three quarters of the current year and statistics show that again the trade balance has been 60 to 40 percent in favor of the UAE.

Meanwhile Head of Iran-UAE Chamber of Commerce Farshid Farzanegan, for his part, pointed to the global changes and the need for having relations with the neighboring states and explained the major economic capacities of both countries.

He called for the integration of regional economies, adding that the UAE, Turkey, and Russia are three neighboring states of Iran with high capacity for attracting Iranian goods among the neighboring states and underscored the development of relations with these countries, especially with the UAE as the country has exported diverse Iranian goods and it is a good chance for Iran for developing ties.

Farzanegan also said no-issuance of trade and tourism visas and revoking visas and stay permits of Iranians, the UAE’s strictness on Iranians’ banking accounts, weakness of road transportation, and the customs tariffs are of the major hurdles in way of developing bilateral trade between both countries.

Participants in the meeting called for launching a banking brokerage and resolving the logistics and visa problems and suggested Iran’s embassy launch a commercial section in Dubai.

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Gouriten pointed to the problems and sanctions against Iran and described Iran’s significant economic and trade progress as unbelievable, saying that French people and companies are very interested to cooperate with Iran but at this moment since major French exporting companies are big and export most of their products to the U.S cannot lose their trade with the U.S. for trade with Iran.

He reiterated that as soon as some changes happen regarding sanctions against Iran and condition improves or agreements are reached, France is ready to resume its trade with Iran, reiterating that at first, French companies should be assured of future consequences of trade with Iran or probable sanctions.

On the financial mechanism of INSTEX launched by the Europeans, he expressed hope that problems would be resolved to pave the ground for its activation.

Meanwhile Mr. Karbasi, for his part, said that during the sanctions, Iran attained self-sufficiency in some productions, stipulated that besides innovation in production, the method of trade has also changed in the country. He added that the country put on agenda bartering trade or trade with national currencies, adding that Iran and France can launch a special financial mechanism for monetary transactions.

He then pointed to the economic recession looming on the world economy due to the spread of coronavirus pandemic and also to the decrease in the level of ties between Iran and France due to the U.S. sanctions against Iran, adding that after the U.S. pullout of the JCPOA, the level of ties between Tehran and Paris fell sharply.

Karbasi went on to say that according to the statistics, the trade between Iran and France was $3b in 2018 but due to the recession resulted from sanctions and coronavirus pandemic, the bilateral trade declined sharply. He said in 2019 and due to the U.S. pullout from the JCPOA, Iran, and France’s trade slumped to $470m and the figure has been merely around $250m in the first three quarters of the current Iranian calendar year which is not an acceptable figure.

He said the U.S. unilateral sanctions and Iranian people’s problems in facing them even in the medicine and food were of the major woes of the country, reiterating that these woes made Iranians and especially traders of the private sector to find some renovations in production and exports.

Karbasi went on to say that Iran itself is currently a producer of some products that once it used to import, adding that traders and economic activists found other ways to make sanctions ineffective like bartering or trade with national currencies which have been good experiences.

He then pointed to the exodus of French car-making companies or French companies active in the oil and gas sector from Iran due to the U.S. sanctions, saying that due to this pullout, Iran was forced to provide auto parts from its neighboring states like the UAE and Turkey and it was a blow to France because it lost its direct access to Iran market.

He also proposed to launch a special channel for solving financial transactions between Iran and France.

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