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In the meeting, Shafei pointed to the good and strategic position of South Africa and its stance in the region, adding that without any doubt South African traders and investors can create access for Iranians to considerable market in African continent. He then pointed to the good political relation between Iran and South Africa, and said that both sides should try to broaden their economic ties which is not unfortunately satisfactory and defendable.

He then added that one of the priorities of the current government in Iran is to broaden ties, and pointed to the efforts of South African ambassador in recent months for getting acquainted with the provincial capacities of Iran and stipulated that Iran has good capabilities for strengthening the level of ties and both sides should make efforts to take advantage of it.

Shafei then termed as promising meeting of the joint economic commission of Iran and South Africa in near future and added that in the past some good MoUs have been signed between the two states but none of them has been implemented yet and their implementations should be put on the agenda.

He recommended exchange of data and information between the joint committee and the commercial section of the South African Embassy in Tehran before the meeting of the joint economic commission convenes. He also called for prioritization for implementation of the delayed MoUs.

Shafei also called for dispatch of trade delegations between the two countries and announced readiness of the ICCIMA for sending delegation to South Africa.

He also reiterated that concentration on the barter trade between Iran and South Africa is very important, adding that it is possible between the agro sectors of the two countries and called for planning.

Shafei also pointed to some other fields for cooperation between the two states like technical and engineering services, transportation, medicines, medical equipment and metals.

Then South African Ambassador to Tehran Mr. Khumalo, for his part, said that the joint economic commission will be held after Iranian President’s visit to South Africa and during the visit the ground for interactions between statesmen of the two countries will be provided.

He admitted that some 23 MoUs have been signed between the two countries and considerable amount of the MoUs has not been implemented and called for immediate implementation of them based on the mutual interests.

He added that former governments of the two countries had set targets to increase their bilateral trade to $2b by 2022 which has not been materialized and there is a long way to go.

He admitted that the trade balance between Iran and South Africa has grown considerably, adding that small and medium size enterprises in both countries have opportunities to cooperate regardless of the U.S. sanctions.

Khumalo called for boosting the level of economic relation through finding new ways for expanding ties, reiterating that exchange of trade delegations is one of the ways for boosting trade and finding the needs of both countries by the traders.

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According to IRNA report, in a ceremony in the presence of Japan Ambassador to Tehran Aikawa Kazutoshi, representative of United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Mr. Claudio Providas, Representative United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Ms. Maryam Javan Shahraki, Deputy Chief of Department of Environment Mr. Ahmad Reza Lahijan Zadeh and head of Iran Fishery Organization Mr. Nabiollah Khoonmirzaee, the MoUs on gratuitous aids were signed.

Addressing the ceremony, Japan Ambassador Mr. Kazutoshi welcomed the participants and explained the cooperation of his government with Iran in the developmental fields like a revival of Urmia Lake and the Fishery Organization in Chabahar Port in training the fishers.

Then Provides, for his part, explained the cooperation of UNDP with Iran and Japan in the revival of Urmia Lake and explained the program of this organization for the revival of other wetlands.

Meanwhile, Lahijan Zadeh said in a condition that COVID-19 has overshadowed many issues and activities in the world, we are here to consult for continuing co-operations, expressed hope that 2021 would be the last year of the COVID-19 and the world would return to the normal condition.

He also reminded the participants of the 50th anniversary of signing the Ramsar Convention, saying that one of the activities of Iran has been to revitalize Urmia Lake that the Japan Government supported Iran in terms of financing and offering expert consultation.

Lahijan Zadeh went on to say that Japan has spent some one billion dollars for saving the Urmia Lake, adding that he can point to ecologic management of Anzali Wetlands and identifying the wetlands in the neighboring provinces of the Persian Gulf as one of the Japanese government’s joint activities with Iran. He further said that developing sustainable agriculture in Urmia Lake is in this framework.

Then Javan Shahraki thanked Japan Embassy in Tehran and pointed to the cooperation of Iran, Japan, and UNIDO in different fields especially in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, and concentrating on training fishers and developing activities of the aquatic at Chabahar.

Meanwhile Head of Iran Fisheries Organization Khoonmirzaee, for his part, said that Iran with having coastal lines in the north and south and the existence of several centers for fish farming and other aquatics is the biggest producer of fisheries in the region. He further said Chabahar Port due to access to the free waters is dependent on fishery but there are still more capabilities in this regard that with activating them, more opportunities for jobs, deprivation, and developing co-operations will be provided.

He then said one project has been operationalized in collaboration with the Iran Fishery Organization, UNIDO, and Japan government and its last phase is pursued to be carried out in order to develop the trade of tuna and to boost the level of the aquatics to a considerable level.

Meanwhile, according to the United Nations Information Center (UNIC) in Tehran, Japan and UNIDO have signed a funding agreement for a project to promote the sustainable development of the tuna value chain in the Chabahar region of Iran.

Building on earlier interventions to build the capacity of the tuna value chain in Chabahar, the initiative will support the ability of local fishermen to access new markets while at the same time reduce the risk of overfishing.  Currently, although tuna caught in the Chabahar region is of high quality, most of it is canned and sold at low prices. Fishermen are catching tuna using methods and at volumes that, if continued, will likely deplete marine resources in the south-east coastal region.

Through a collaborative approach with the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad, the Iranian Fisheries Organization, and local institutions, UNIDO will provide technical assistance to improve the quality management system, encourage the promotion of exports at higher prices, promote sustainable fishing practices, and establish a mechanism to monitor and control the stock of yellowfin tuna.

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the fishery sector in Chabahar will directly benefit from these quality and market-related interventions, particularly from Japanese knowledge sharing and technology transfers.

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