TEHRAN – Head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Alireza Peyman-Pak said that President Ebrahim Raisi has stressed the need for establishing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the TPO portal reported.

Making the remarks in an interview with the national TV, Peyman-Pak pointed to the significance of removing the barriers to financial and banking exchanges with the SCO member countries, saying: “During President Raisi’s meetings with the presidents of some SCO members, the development of trade and the removal of obstacles and challenges were emphasized.”

“We have had a good experience with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU); 80 percent of the process [for reaching an FTA with EAEU] has been completed and we will finalize technical discussions in December and the draft of the agreement will be sent to the parliament for approval,” the TPO head said.

“Since most of the Eurasian countries are also members of the Shanghai Organization, the president suggested that we pursue establishing free trade agreements in the Shanghai area as well,” Peyman-Pak added.

In the meetings that were held during the SCO summit in Uzbekistan, the presidents of the members of the pact, the monitoring members, and the partners all put forward good words in this regard, the official said.

“Regarding financial and banking issues with countries like Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, we have taken good measures to use alternative routes. Also, the removal of the dollar and the euro in mutual trade will also be put on the agenda, and the parties will be offered the use of new insurance and financial facilities that our central bank has considered,” he added.

According to Peyman-Pak, another issue raised by the president was the use of transit capacities of the SCO members.

“We have the North-South Corridor and we focused on it in the last few months and developed the country’s transit capacities [through this corridor], but the workload is large and requires SCO members’ participation as well,” the official said.

Iran officially joined the SCO at the 22nd SCO summit on Friday.

The Islamic Republic’s full membership in the SCO was announced by the president of Uzbekistan. China, Russia, India, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan attended the 22nd SCO summit.

TEHRAN – Head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Alireza Peyman-Pak said that President Ebrahim Raisi has stressed the need for establishing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the TPO portal reported.

Making the remarks in an interview with the national TV, Peyman-Pak pointed to the significance of removing the barriers to financial and banking exchanges with the SCO member countries, saying: “During President Raisi’s meetings with the presidents of some SCO members, the development of trade and the removal of obstacles and challenges were emphasized.”

“We have had a good experience with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU); 80 percent of the process [for reaching an FTA with EAEU] has been completed and we will finalize technical discussions in December and the draft of the agreement will be sent to the parliament for approval,” the TPO head said.

“Since most of the Eurasian countries are also members of the Shanghai Organization, the president suggested that we pursue establishing free trade agreements in the Shanghai area as well,” Peyman-Pak added.

In the meetings that were held during the SCO summit in Uzbekistan, the presidents of the members of the pact, the monitoring members, and the partners all put forward good words in this regard, the official said.

“Regarding financial and banking issues with countries like Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, we have taken good measures to use alternative routes. Also, the removal of the dollar and the euro in mutual trade will also be put on the agenda, and the parties will be offered the use of new insurance and financial facilities that our central bank has considered,” he added.

According to Peyman-Pak, another issue raised by the president was the use of transit capacities of the SCO members.

“We have the North-South Corridor and we focused on it in the last few months and developed the country’s transit capacities [through this corridor], but the workload is large and requires SCO members’ participation as well,” the official said.

Iran officially joined the SCO at the 22nd SCO summit on Friday.

The Islamic Republic’s full membership in the SCO was announced by the president of Uzbekistan. China, Russia, India, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan attended the 22nd SCO summit.

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Overview:

As economic recovery efforts are ongoing and the world continues to struggle with Covid-19 and the regular advent of new mutations, the global economy is shaken by another exogenous shock – the East European crisis. The direct humanitarian aspects in Ukraine and Russia were the primary concern at the onset of the crisis, prompting economic sanctions from the West. However, as the situation escalated, it has been made clear that the impact of the crisis reaches far beyond the borders of the countries directly involved. Global markets were rattled with surges in commodity prices, prompting energy and food security threats, especially in vulnerable countries. If left unaddressed, this is expected to leave a long-lasting global economic impact.

Despite not being direct parties to the crisis, Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) member countries (MCs) are not immune to these shocks. In this context, the IsDB will organize a side event during the 2022 IsDB Group Annual Meeting in Egypt. To enrich the body of knowledge, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is invited to share their views on the Global Economic Outlook, with a particular focus on IsDB MCs.

Key issues to be addressed:

1.       What are the implications of the East European crisis on the global economy and IsDB MCs?

2.       How will the wide-ranging sanctions and counter-sanctions affect the international financial system and IsDB MCs?

3.       How are IsDB Member Countries affected by the crisis? What are the main transmission mechanisms?

4.       How could IsDB MCs cope with potential critical challenges in food security, inflation, remittances and tourism, and general economic growth and recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic?

Overview:

As economic recovery efforts are ongoing and the world continues to struggle with Covid-19 and the regular advent of new mutations, the global economy is shaken by another exogenous shock – the East European crisis. The direct humanitarian aspects in Ukraine and Russia were the primary concern at the onset of the crisis, prompting economic sanctions from the West. However, as the situation escalated, it has been made clear that the impact of the crisis reaches far beyond the borders of the countries directly involved. Global markets were rattled with surges in commodity prices, prompting energy and food security threats, especially in vulnerable countries. If left unaddressed, this is expected to leave a long-lasting global economic impact.

Despite not being direct parties to the crisis, Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) member countries (MCs) are not immune to these shocks. In this context, the IsDB will organize a side event during the 2022 IsDB Group Annual Meeting in Egypt. To enrich the body of knowledge, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is invited to share their views on the Global Economic Outlook, with a particular focus on IsDB MCs.

Key issues to be addressed:

1.       What are the implications of the East European crisis on the global economy and IsDB MCs?

2.       How will the wide-ranging sanctions and counter-sanctions affect the international financial system and IsDB MCs?

3.       How are IsDB Member Countries affected by the crisis? What are the main transmission mechanisms?

4.       How could IsDB MCs cope with potential critical challenges in food security, inflation, remittances and tourism, and general economic growth and recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic?

A reduction in Iran’s exports to Iraq and Afghanistan is not a source of concern and a roughly 80% of Iran’s trade is being made with its neighboring countries, said an Iranian trade official on Sunday.

Ahmadreza Alaei, deputy head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization, said that the main cause of reduction in Iran’s exports to the two neighboring countries is political changes and lack of political stability in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

The official added that another reason for the fall in Iran’s trade with Iraq and Afghanistan is a change in domestic policies of the two countries.

“Both countries are after supporting their national production and as a result of that, a number of commodities that we used to export to these countries have no more customer,” Alaei said.

He said for instance that Afghanistan has no plan to import plastic products anymore and Iraq is seeking to stop the imports of its agricultural needs.

A recent report by the Statistics and Economic Analysis Center of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture said that the fall in trade between Iran and Afghanistan is mainly caused by US sanctions against Afghanistan’s banking network.

The value of Iran’s exports to the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) member countries grew by 40% year-on-year during the first five months of the fiscal year (March 21 – August 22), according to the spokesman of Iran Customs Administration.  

Rouhollah Latifi said on Tuesday that Iran exported some 7.3 million tons of goods worth $4.1 billion to the nine-member bloc in the period under review.

The official put Iran’s total trade with ECO member countries at 9.1 million tons ($6.89 billion), which he said is up 39% compared to figures from the corresponding period of the preceding year without mentioning whether this growth was in terms of weight or value.  

According to Latifi, Iran’s imports from the organization member countries stood at 1.79 tons. Despite a 2% fall in terms of weight, Iran’s imports register a 38% hike in value terms.

Turkey, Afghanistan, and Pakistan were the top three destinations for Iranian commodities among ECO member countries during the five-month period with Turkey, Pakistan and Kazakhstan being the main importers to Iran during the time span, the spokesman said.

The value of Iran’s exports to the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) member countries grew by 40% year-on-year during the first five months of the fiscal year (March 21 – August 22), according to the spokesman of Iran Customs Administration.  

Rouhollah Latifi said on Tuesday that Iran exported some 7.3 million tons of goods worth $4.1 billion to the nine-member bloc in the period under review.

The official put Iran’s total trade with ECO member countries at 9.1 million tons ($6.89 billion), which he said is up 39% compared to figures from the corresponding period of the preceding year without mentioning whether this growth was in terms of weight or value.  

According to Latifi, Iran’s imports from the organization member countries stood at 1.79 tons. Despite a 2% fall in terms of weight, Iran’s imports register a 38% hike in value terms.

Turkey, Afghanistan, and Pakistan were the top three destinations for Iranian commodities among ECO member countries during the five-month period with Turkey, Pakistan and Kazakhstan being the main importers to Iran during the time span, the spokesman said.

TEHRAN - In a meeting between Consulate General of Iran in Karachi Hassan Nourian and Head of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA) Masoud Khansari, the officials discussed ways of expanding trade relations between Iran and Pakistan, the TCCIMA portal reported.

In this meeting, which was held at the place of TCCIMA on Monday, important issues such as the unfamiliarity of the businessmen of the two countries with the production capabilities, goods and services of each other, the existence of some communication and commercial monopolies, the decrease in the number of business delegation exchanges due to the pandemic, and the need for cooperation in holding exhibitions as well as more attention to border crossings were raised and discussed.

Referring to the volume of trade between Iran and Pakistan, Nourian said: “Informal trade between the two countries is large, and many Iranian products are traded in the Pakistani market using national currencies; trade through third countries and even smuggling also takes place, and it is estimated that the actual trade between the two countries is much higher than what is recorded in the official statistics.”

“For a long time, establishing a barter trade mechanism between the two countries has been discussed for developing mutual trade, and in this regard, a memorandum of understanding has also been signed between Zahedan Chamber of Commerce and Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industry, but nothing special has happened in terms of implementation, and it seems that more focus and effort should be put on this issue,” the official added.

Referring to the holding of an exhibition in Karachi in late December, Nourian called on the Iranian chambers of commerce to make the necessary arrangements for the maximum presence of Iranian companies in this event.

Khansari for his part stated that TCCIMA will take the necessary measures to ensure the presence of private sector companies in the Karachi exhibition.

He further noted that TCCIMA is going to send an official invitation to Karachi Chamber of Commerce to send a business delegation to Tehran.

Photo: TCCIMA Head Masoud Khansari (L) and Consulate General of Iran in Karachi Hassan Nourian

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