Baku, Azerbaijan, April 16
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
Iran's border provinces and neighboring countries should become more active in terms of exports, said Reza Rahmani, Iranian Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade, Trend reports referring to Shata News Agency.
According to Rahmani, economic relations of Iran’s East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan provinces are strong with businessmen from Turkey and Azerbaijan, Sistan and Baluchestan province has strong ties with businessmen from Pakistan, and North Khorasan, Razavi Khorasan and South Khorasan provinces have strong ties with businessmen from Afghanistan and Central Asian countries.
Noting that Iran neighbors 15 countries, the minister spoke about the need for a program and a strong will for increasing exports to these countries. "Although Iranian exports to Iraq amount to $12 billion, export to Russia only make up $300 million, which is unacceptable," he said.
The Iranian minister stated that neighboring countries should be considered a “package” for export. For example, through the Iraqi market, it is possible to enter the EU markets as well as to the markets in Syria, Lebanon, Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, North African states and Turkey.
Rahmani pointed out that $22 billion worth of exports of Iran to neighboring countries make up only 2 percent of the imports from the neighboring countries, adding that the goal is to double this figure. While it is possible, this requires research and application of some trade policies.
According to Rahmani, the quality of exported products is important for the protection of the “Iran” brand. Also, domestic demand should be set as a priority; once the domestic demand is met, the remaining products can be exported.
"The Central Bank of Iran has agreed that, instead of having to return the foreign currency earned from exports to the country's economic turnover, industrialists exporting goods of any size will be able to import raw materials or production-related products within the framework of the aforementioned process this year (started March 21, 2019),” he said.