TEHRAN – Head of Iran Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Alireza Peyman-Pak has said his organization will fully support both Iranian and Qatari businessmen to facilitate their trade exchanges, the TPO portal reported.

“Once the relationship between the two countries' traders is established, the organization will make every effort to support the continuation of these collaborations,” Peyman-Pak said.

Referring to the recent visit of an Iranian trade delegation to Qatar, the official said that one of the first steps in developing trade with other countries is to establish trade between the two countries’ businessmen and private sectors.

The TPO head further expressed dissatisfaction with the current level of economic relations between the two countries and said: “Despite close political relations with Iran, Qatar has a very low share in trade with the Islamic Republic, and if we look at the trade balance between the two countries, the figure is very low and insignificant.”

The traders of the two countries must be acquainted with each other's capacities in order to form a constructive trade relationship, and the TPO also supports and provides the requirements in this regard including logistics, customs, monetary, financial, and banking facilities.

Peyman-Pak further pointed to the visit of the Iranian trade delegation to Qatar and noted that this was the largest Iranian trade delegation visiting this country in the history of Iran-Qatar relations.

Headed by Iranian Energy Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian, a high-ranking delegation of Iranian government officials, including Sports Minister Hamid Sajjadi and TPO Head Alireza Peyman-Pak, and ICCIMA Head Gholam-Hossein Shafeie, arrived in the Qatari capital Doha on June 5 to hold talks with senior Qatari officials and attend the two country’s eighth Joint Economic Committee meeting.

The two sides inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the end of their Joint Economic Committee meeting on June 6 to outline avenues for future cooperation.

The MOU was signed by Mehrabian and Qatar’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Qassim Al-Thani who co-chaired the meeting.

This memorandum determines the framework of cooperation in various fields including transit, transportation, industry and trade, energy, customs, and free zones, tourism, culture, agriculture, sports, etc.

The businessmen of the two countries also signed eight MOUs on food, medical industry, knowledge-based companies, etc. on the sidelines of the mentioned meeting.

Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) and Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry also inked an MOU to form a Joint Economic Council.

The document was signed by Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al-Thani, Chairman of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and his Iranian Counterpart Gholam-Hossein Shafeie.

In another event held on the sidelines of the two countries’ Joint Economic Committee meeting, Peyman-Pak held talks with the private sector representatives of the two countries to discuss trade related issues and challenges.

Speaking in this meeting, he expressed the Iranian government’s determination to fully support Qatari traders and investors who decide to do business in Iran.

“Holding joint meetings between businessmen and private sectors of the two countries is one of the issues emphasized by the governments of Iran and Qatar, and both countries are working to establish stable trade relations,” the official said.

EF/MA