TEHRAN (Iran News) Razaghi emphasized that the trade volume between Iran and Oman should reach at least $20 billion annually. Without achieving this figure, the close political relations would not yield tangible benefits. Therefore, during the recent meeting between Iranian and Omani ministers, the establishment of a joint committee was proposed to address obstacles hindering the realization of the trade goals.

One of the major barriers to trade was tariff issues, which were resolved during the recent visit. It was agreed that preferential trade agreements would be implemented, effectively reducing tariffs to zero.

Razaghi further announced efforts to facilitate the transportation of goods between the two countries, highlighting the challenge of establishing a direct and regular shipping line between Iran and Oman. Oman has agreed to cooperate by covering 50% of the required subsidy for six months to a year, while the Iranian Trade Promotion Organization will cover the remaining 50%.

He added that if Iran and Oman establish a shipping line with daily trips, the current trade volume is insufficient to fill the shipping capacity. This subsidy will be used to compensate for underutilized capacity until trade volume increases.

Razaghi Jahromi pointed out that Iranian manufacturers have been advised over the past two years to shift the final 30% of their production processes to Oman. This strategy would allow them to export finished products to other countries via Oman, leveraging Oman’s zero-tariff agreements with 16 countries, including the U.S.

He also noted that one of the main obstacles for Iranian investors in Oman was the inability to open bank accounts. While some of these issues have been resolved, others are still under review. Currently, economic actors investing in Oman can open accounts for both themselves and their companies. The implementation of preferential trade agreements, along with these improvements, is expected to boost Iranian exports via Oman.

The Iran-Oman Chamber of Commerce president highlighted that last year, Oman, with a population of 5 million, attracted over 40 billion Omani rials (approximately $140 billion) in foreign investment.

Finally, he stressed that while Iran and Oman have the potential to collaborate across various industries, overcoming sanctions and resolving issues related to Iran’s non-membership in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) are crucial for realizing this potential.

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Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting with Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said in Tehran.

“We believe that the expansion of bilateral relations in all fields benefits both sides,” the Leader said.

“Increasing Iran-Oman cooperation is significant because the two countries share the very important Strait of Hormuz waterway.”

Referring to negotiations between Iranians and Omanis, Ayatollah Khamenei noted that the talks should be followed up seriously until they yield tangible results.

The Leader also urged all regional countries to take into account the policy pursued by the Zionist regime and its supporters to sow discord and erode peace in the region.

Ayatollah Khamenei also touched on Sultan Haitham’s comments on Egypt’s willingness to resume relations with the Islamic Republic, saying, “We welcome this position and have no problem in this regard.”

Concerning the Omani Sultan’s satisfaction with the resumption of Iran-Saudi Arabia ties, the Leader said, “These issues are the outcome of the Raisi administration’s good policy to develop and strengthen relations with neighbors and regional states.”

Ayatollah Khamenei expressed hope that the Islamic Ummah will regain its grandeur through the expansion of ties between governments, as the convergence of Muslim countries’ capacities and facilities would benefit all Muslim nations and governments.

Sultan Haitham, for his part, emphasized that Muscat’s policy is to expand relations with its neighbors, especially the Islamic Republic.

The two sides exchanged views on various fields of cooperation during the talks in Tehran, he said, hoping that with the continuation of the negotiations, bilateral relations will expand further and yield practical results.

Heading a high-ranking delegation, the Omani Sultan traveled to Iran on Sunday upon an invitation by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

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In the meeting with Ambassador of Oman to Tehran Sayyid Dr Ahmed bin Hilal bin Saud Al Busaidi, Secretary of the Council Hojjatollah Abdolmaleki emphasized accelerating the process for signing the MoU on cooperation between the free zones of the two countries.

He said that both sides have reached good agreements for broadening the joint free zones and they have progressed well, adding that he believes the trade relations of both countries can be more than the current amount and signing the mentioned MoU will have great impact on broadening trade and economic relations between Iran and Oman.

He then pointed to the amount of Iran’s exports to Oman in the past year which had been two times more than the preceding year, adding that cooperation between the free zones of the countries will be creating the ground for investment as well as it can increase exports and imports to and from Oman more than ever and it can create the ground for increasing occupation and investment in these zones.

He then pointed to creating bunkering infrastructures in Qeshm Free Trade Zone and noted that Iran is ready to create a joint company with Khasb Free Zone of Oman to offer services to the opposite side.

Abdolmaleki went on to say that financial turnover of bunkering industry in the Persian Gulf is over $20b per year and emphasized that some part of this turnover can be attracted in Oman and Iran.

He stated that Qeshm Free Zone is planning for offering bunkering services to different demanding countries and interested countries in this field, adding that by the way the priority of the country is to share interests with neighboring countries like Oman.

Then Ambassador of Oman expressed his country’s interest for the MoU cooperation between the free zones of both states.

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The two sides reviewed areas of cooperation in the fields of transport, communications and information technology and ways of enhancing them to serve the interests of the two countries.

During the meeting, the two sides also emphasized the need for developing cooperation in the field of maritime transportation and also regional and trans-regional transit.

Iran and Oman also agreed to hold a joint Working Group on maritime transportation.

The meeting was attended by Eng. Khamis Mohammed Al Shamakhi, Undersecretary for Transport.

Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) received on Tuesday a business delegation from the Islamic Republic of Iran, headed by Peyman-Pak.

Eng. Ridha Juma Al Saleh, Chairman of OCCI’s Board of Directors said that the visit reflects the keenness of Oman and Iran to enhance relations and trade exchange.

Al Saleh added that B2B meetings between business-people and representatives from the private sectors of the two countries will contribute to broadening the horizons of joint businesses and investments in lucrative sectors.

The trade exchange between the two countries, Al Saleh said, reached $306.043 million by June 2020. Omani exports reached $175.207 million, while Iranian imports stood at $130.836 million.

In his turn, the Iranian Deputy Minister for Industry, Mining and Trade said that the Iranian side is keen to achieve higher rates of trade exchange as his country is striving to resolve the challenges facing Omani businesspeople in Iran.

As the visit of Iranian President to Oman approaches, the Deputy Minister of Industry arrived in Omani capital of Muscat at the head of a high-ranking trade delegation consisting of 30 private companies, representatives of Ports and Maritime Organization and the Export Guarantee Fund of Iran (EGFI) and were welcomed by Omani officials.

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Mohsen Zarrabi put the annual trade between the two countries at $1.336 billion in the past year, showing 53 percent growth year on year.

The official also said that Iran’s export to Oman rose 63 percent to stand at $716 million in 1400, from $438 million in 1399.

Iran shares borders with fifteen countries, namely the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Oman, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kuwait, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.

Expansion of trade with these neighbors, especially increasing non-oil exports to them, is one of the major plans that the Iranian government is now pursuing.

Among the mentioned countries, Oman is one that the Islamic Republic has attached priority in this due, as the two neighbors enjoy an old history of good political and economic relations as well as many religious and cultural commonalities.

As stated several times by the officials of the two countries, the ground is completely prepared for the expansion of trade relations between Iran and Oman.

Emphasizing that the basic infrastructure is prepared for the development of trade relations between Iran and Oman, the head of Iran-Oman Joint Chamber of Commerce, had previously said that with the beginning of sanctions and the severance of some countries’ relations with Iran, the government of Oman not only did not cut its trade relations with Iran, but also they are trying to increase economic relations with the Islamic Republic in the framework of international relations and with a win-win approach.

Oman not only did not close its borders during the pandemic, when most countries closed their borders to Iranian goods, but also increased shipping lines to Iran, Zarrabi further noted.

He also mentioned Oman as a base for re-exporting Iranian goods noting that the sultanate has free trade agreement with 16 Arab-African countries, the United States, Singapore and four European countries, and noted that Iran should take advantage of this golden opportunity.

Agricultural products, construction materials, building stones, minerals, metals, bitumen, and cement are the major products Iran exports to Oman.

Given the favorable conditions for increasing the diversity of Iranian exports and the existing infrastructure for re-export in Oman, there is a capacity to increase the value of trade between the two sides to $5 billion.

Iran has currently an increasing trend in re-exporting its goods from Oman. In fact, Oman is the only Arab country in the Persian Gulf that accepts Iranian companies through which Iran can reach the markets of other countries.

In January 2020, Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) held the first meeting of its Commodity-Country Desk on trade with Oman presided by Farzad Piltan, the director-general of TPO’s Office of Arabian and African Countries.

In mid-February, Iranian Ambassador to Oman Ali Najafi had announced that the value of trade between the two countries increased by 40 percent in the 10-months period from March 21, 2021 to January 20, 2022, compared to the same period in the previous year.

Najafi put the value of trade between the two countries at over one billion dollars in the mentioned 10 months, saying that Iranian exports to Oman increased by over 70 percent in the said period.

According to the official, the trade between the two neighbors is following an upward trend and is expected to increase even further in the months to come.

Mentioning the holding of the 19th Iran-Oman Joint Economic Committee meeting in early February, the official said, during his visit to Oman for attending the joint economic committee meeting, Iranian Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Reza Fatemi-Amin met with the private sector and political and economic officials of the Kingdom, including the minister of Health, the minister of Economy, Foreign Affairs, Energy, and Minerals and the minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology of Oman and the heads of Oman’s free and special economic zones to discuss the latest state of economic and trade relations between the two countries.

Najafi stressed the importance of increasing trade relations between the two countries and said: “We hope to see the utilization of the existing capacities in Iran-Oman relations by pursuing a preferential tariff agreement and organizing and strengthening maritime transport between the two countries.”

Referring to the serious determination of the Iranian Embassy in Oman to advise and support private sectors of the two countries, he stressed: “The doors of the Iranian embassy are always open to all Iranian and Omani businessmen and investors, and in this regard, and in line with our economic diplomacy, more than half of the daily meetings of the ambassador and other relevant colleagues are held with Iranian and Omani businessmen.”

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The MOU was signed by Iranian Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Reza Fatemi-Amin and Omani Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousef, who co-chaired the joint meeting.

During the mentioned committee meeting, the two sides stressed the need for further expansion of economic cooperation between Tehran and Muscat through Iran’s southeastern Chabahar Port.

Speaking at the end of the meeting, Al Yousef underlined the significance of Chabahar port as a platform for boosting the level of trade between the two countries, saying that in order to implement the signed cooperation document, an Omani economic delegation will soon visit Chabahar port to assess the infrastructure, equipment, and capabilities of Iran’s oceanic port.

Fatemi-Amin visited Oman’s capital Muscat on top of a high-ranking trade delegation to attend the 19th Iran-Oman Joint Economic Committee meeting which was held during February 8-9.

During his visit, the minister also met Oman’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sayyid Badr Bin Hamad Bin Hamood Al Busaidi to discuss ways for expanding ties between the two countries.

Speaking in this meeting, Al Busaidi expressed his country’s readiness for expanding economic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Fatemi-Amin also underlined the close relations between the two countries and said: “We have long-standing relations based on friendship and mutual closeness with Oman, and these friendly relations will pave the way for the promotion of trade relations.”

During his visit to Oman, Fatemi-Amin also met with the private sector and political and economic officials of the Kingdom, including the minister of Health, the minister of Economy, Foreign Affairs, Energy, and Minerals and the minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology of Oman and the heads of Oman’s free and special economic zones to discuss the latest state of economic and trade relations between the two countries.

Prior to his visit to Oman, Fatemi-Amin had traveled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this week to attend Expo Dubai.

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Speaking in an interview with IRNA on Saturday, Mohsen Zarrabi said, “Given the suitable conditions for increasing diversity of Iranian export goods and existing infrastructures for re-export in Oman, the two countries of Iran and Oman enjoy high capacity to increase volume of bilateral trade up to $5 billion.”

Turning to the appropriateness of political and economic relations between the two countries of Iran and Oman, Zarrabi stated, “Concurrent with the establishment of Iran-Oman Joint Chamber of Commerce in 2013, volume of bilateral trade exchange between the two countries stood at over $221 million in absence of suitable and necessary infrastructures.”

With the improvement of infrastructures in 2018 including maritime lines, facilitation of registration of company and removal of visa between the two countries, Iran’s volume of trade to Oman hit about $1.161 billion in this period.

But Iran’s trade with the Sultanate of Oman decreased as much as 40 percent in 2019 due to some problems happened in the country such as daily directives issued ahead of banning export of goods and/or imposing export duties, etc., he added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Zarrabi referred to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and closure of some borders in this period and reiterated, “Despite all problems and difficulties caused by the sanctions imposed against Iran and spread of COVID-19, trade volume exchange between Iran and Oman hit $797 million in 11 months of the last Iranian calendar year (from March 21, 2020 to Feb. 19, 2021), showing a considerable growth as compared to the same period of last year.”

Turning to the key role of Omani ports in importing goods to the Islamic Republic of Iran during the pandemic, the chairman of Iran-Oman Joint Chamber of Commerce stated, “In spite of closure of ports and borders on Iranian goods and commodities by many countries during the pandemic, Oman increased trade shipping lines between the two countries.”

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