Iran’s policy of increasing non-oil exports as a strong strategy to nullify the U.S. sanctions is not limited just to the products, while the country is also determined to expand the export of technical and engineering services.

The head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) says his organization is focusing on improving the exports of engineering and technical services to the neighboring countries as well as China, and India.

“Currently, the value of services exports in the world is at about $5.77 trillion and we are trying to increase Iran's share of such exports by removing barriers in this area,” Hamid Zadboum has stated.

According to the Association of Iranian Exporters of Technical and Engineering Services, Iran has the potential and capability to export technical and engineering services worth $25 billion in a year.

Also, during a recent meeting held at the place of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA) for discussing the ways to expand the export of technical and engineering services, the representatives of the private sector in the construction industry said that Iran has the potential and capability to export technical and engineering services worth $40 billion in a year.

Addressing that meeting, TCCIMA Secretary-General Bahman Eshqi said that in order to increase the export of technical and engineering services, an efficient triangle should be formed among the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Tehran Mass Builders Association, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strengthen economic diplomacy and open the construction market of other countries to Iranian companies and engineers.

Ahmad Khoram, the head of the country's Construction Engineering Organization, for his part, emphasized his organization’s efforts in this regard and said: “If Iran's exports of technical and engineering services are on the path of prosperity, we will see a leap which will consequently lead to the increase in employment in the country.”

In another meeting on the expansion of export of technical and engineering services held in mid-September, the TPO’s deputy head for exports of goods and services said that Iran's export capacity of technical and engineering services is more than $20 billion.

“Presence in the international projects can bring prosperity to the enterprises and promote the knowledge of experts”, Farhad Nouri reiterated.

Considering Iran’s huge potential in this field, boosting such exports would be an advantage for expanding the country’s foreign trade especially with the neighbors.

Some Iranian companies including Mapna Group have already had a fruitful presence in the completion of infrastructure projects in several countries including Iraq and Oman and if such contribution will be expanded it will be a good source of export revenues while job creation.

Although it should be noted that while there is high potential and capability in Iran for the expansion of technical-engineering services export, there are also limitations in this regard.

As Nouri has said the sanctions and banking problems have created obstacles to the development of the exports of technical and engineering services.

According to the official, realization of direct exports requires direct investment in the target markets which would guarantee the support of the projects in these markets.

To support the export of engineering services, this section should be excluded from some of the country’s export bans so that meaningful steps could be taken to develop the export of the services, Nouri has stressed.