Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.14
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran and Saudi Arabia can reopen the locked doors of bilateral trade, the Vice chairman of Iran-Saudi Arabia joint Chamber of Commerce Asadollah Asgaroladi said.
In an interview with Iran's Sharq daily, Asgaroladi said Saudi Arabia should take the first step to resume economic ties between the two countries.
Economic ties were booming under the former Iranian presidents Rafsanjani and Khatami, but under president Ahmadinejad presidency, bilateral ties became lackluster.
Next to Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia is Iran's third leading trading partner among the Arab nations, he said.
At present, Iran exports just carpets and food products, including fruits, pistachios, raisins, saffron, and honey, directly to Saudi Arabia.
In addition, Iran exports petrochemicals to Saudi Arabia through agents from the UAE, China, and Hong Kong, he added.
Saudi Arabia was the 34th leading importer of goods from Iran in the previous Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 20, 2014, according to the Iranian Customs Administration.
Iran exported about $91.5 million worth of non-oil goods to Saudi Arabia and imported $44.2 million of non-oil goods from the country in the previous Iranian year.
...