TEHRAN – Iranian First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri has instructed relative organizations and executive bodies to implement the government’s support package for promoting non-oil exports in the current Iranian calendar year (began on March 20) IRNA reported on Sunday, quoting the head of the country’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO).

According to Hamid Zadboum, this year's support package includes resources from the National Development Fund (NDF) amounting at 20 trillion rials (about $476 million), as well as resources provided in the year’s budget bill amounting at 6 trillion rials (about $143 million) plus part of the revenues from export duties and the increase in the Export Guarantee Fund (EGF)’s capital that was up to 100 million Euros.

The official expressed hope that by allocating the above-mentioned resources, achieving the predetermined goals for the development of non-oil exports in the current calendar year will be facilitated.

Back in May, the acting minister of Industry, Mining, and Trade, Hossein Modares Khiabani, said increasing non-oil export to the neighboring countries is one of the major plans that the Iranian government is pursuing in the current year.

He added that the ministry was planning to increase the value of the country's non-oil exports to its 15 neighbors up to $50 billion.

“Our goal is to be able to meet five percent of our neighboring countries' needs, which would amount to more than 50 billion dollars a year considering the total import of all the 15 countries which is at least 1 trillion dollars annually,” he said.

The official expressed hope that the mentioned goal would be realized before the Iranian calendar year of 1400 (which starts in March 2021), saying that the Institute for Trade Studies and Research and also Trade Promotion Organization are currently developing detailed plans to achieve this goal.

EF/MG