TEHRAN — An Iranian diplomat has noted that after President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to Qatar expectations have been raised to increase the trade volume between Tehran and Doha.

Mehdi Safari, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Economic Diplomacy, made the remarks in a meeting with Iranian businessmen in Doha on Monday, according to the Public Relations Office of the Iran-Qatar Joint Chamber of Commerce. 

During the meeting, which was held on the first day of the visit of Iran's largest trade delegation to Qatar, Safari said, “When economic relations are established between the two countries, political and security relations are stable. If economic relations are weak, political and security relations are torn apart by a breeze.”

Exemplifying his remarks, he said, “For example, we see that even though the Americans have boycotted Russian oil, they allow China to buy Russian oil, and that is the role of trade relations in politics.”

He added that the private sector should establish stable and standard trade relations and comply with the relevant standards. 

According to the career diplomat, stability and commitment to what is stated in the contracts is an important point that should be considered in business relationships.

Safari then went on to reiterate that among more than 100 countries with which Iran has trade relations, in the period from 2020 to 2021, relations with five countries had a negative growth, one of which was Qatar. 

“The action of the Iran-Qatar Chamber of Commerce and the presence of Iranian businessmen and traders in Qatar is a good start to expand trade with Qatar, and with the visit of our President to Qatar and the visit of the Emir of Qatar to Tehran, expectations for expanding trade relations have increased,” the deputy foreign minister said.

Given that Iran's trade relations with some neighboring countries have grown by 500 percent, it is expected to see expansion of trade relations between Iran and Qatar, he remarked.

Ambassador says Foreign Ministry will facilitate business relations

Speaking at the Joint Iran-Qatar Chamber of Commerce, Hamidreza Dehghani Poudeh, the Iranian ambassador to Doha, stressed that businesspeople and entrepreneurs are the real representatives of Iran in Qatar.

He then noted, “The government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will facilitate the connection between Iranian and Qatari businesspeople.”

Dehghani stated that when the spread of Islam to the West is investigated, it can be interpreted that Islam was spread by governments and their guidance, while the spread of Islam to the East and Eastern Asia was done by merchants and traders. 

“We now see that most of the Islamic countries are concentrated in the Far East and Asia, so it can be concluded that there will be a sustainable expansion based on a popular movement,” the envoy noted.

He continued by saying that relations that are formed on the basis of political and security relations will not last, but only relations will be lasting in which the people will benefit and the basis of those relations are founded on the shoulders of the people of those countries. 

“If we see some relations being severed, but immediately established, it is because influential people and commercial companies on both sides have demanded communication and the two countries have been in need, and if relations are never formed, this is because people have not benefited from it,” Dehghani said. 

The diplomat noted that today, the merchants are the true representatives of Iran in Qatar.

Dehghani said, “Continue this representation within the framework of foresight, honesty and neighborhood policy. The task of the Foreign Ministry and the government is also to facilitate the connection of traders and businesspeople of the two countries.”

He then thanked the Joint Chamber of Commerce of Iran and Qatar and the people who had worked hard to bring this group of businesspeople together in Qatar, and expressed hope that next year, when this group come together again in Tehran or Doha, it could be said in numbers that how much the trade volume between the two countries has increased.