TEHRAN – After forging partnerships with many neighbors, the Raisi administration is now working to strengthen these partnerships as part of a strategy meant to cement Iran’s ties with neighbors and other countries. 

From its early days, the administration of President Ayatollah Seyed Ebrahim Raisi attached great importance to upgrading relations with neighboring countries and a host of non-Western powers. Advancing economic diplomacy is the fulcrum of this orientation, known as the Neighborhood Policy.

In order to achieve the goals of this Policy, the Raisi administration initiated multiple visits and tours. President Raisi and his foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian visited numerous countries and used everything in their power to boost Iran’s relations. A year into his administration, President Raisi succeeded in achieving many goals, especially in the field of economic diplomacy. 

Ali Bahadori Jahromi, spokesman for the Raisi administration, pointed to one such goal being achieved which is reversing Iran’s trade deficit. For several months, the spokesman said, Iran had run a trade deficit. But through its dynamic diplomacy, the Raisi administration succeeded in recording a trade surplus of $605 million, according to Bahadori Jahromi. Writing on Twitter, he also reported a %19.5 rise in Iran’s non-oil trade for the spring.  

This is largely due to the fact that the Raisi administration is tirelessly improving ties with neighboring countries.

Mohammad Tala Mazloumi, an Iranian lawmaker, has hailed the Raisi administration’s pursuit of economic diplomacy, saying it placed the policy of enhancing interaction with neighbors high on its agenda right from the start. 

In remarks to state news agency IRNA, the lawmaker referred to Iran’s membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as an achievement that facilitated Iran’s trade. 

“This was the important achievement of Ayatollah Raisi’s trip to Tajikistan. Iran’s membership in this organization opened up Central Asia’s markets to Iran’s exports. Joining this organization will boost exports and increase the country’s revenues in hard currency,” he said. 

Referring to the enhancement of Iran’s economic cooperation with neighbors, Mazloumi said, “The 13th government’s economic diplomacy to consolidate strategic partnerships with neighboring countries is one of the important measures that shows this government’s serious determination to develop the economy of the country and address the people’s economic hardships.”

Mazloumi mentioned an increase in oil sales as another effective measure of the government, saying “with the redoubled efforts of the country's diplomacy and the Ministry of Petroleum, increasing the sale of oil and gas condensate was put on the agenda, which brought favorable results for the country's economy.”

When he assumed office in August last year, Ayatollah Raisi made it clear that he had a new agenda for Iran’s foreign policy. He outlined his foreign policy goals within what came to be known as the Neighborhood Policy, which rests on fostering mainly economic relations with neighbors and non-Western powers.

The new policy orientation soon yielded results, leading to Iran’s membership in the SCO in the first weeks of Raisi’s presidency. Since then, the President has traveled to many countries in a bid to advance his foreign policy goals. This included visits to Russia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Oman, and Qatar, to name a few.