TEHRAN - The head of the Iran-Africa Joint Chamber of Commerce has called for strategic planning to enhance Iran's trade relations with the continent, which currently stand at about $1.3 billion, IRNA reported.

The current trade volume is significantly lower than the potential trade opportunities between Iran and Africa, Masoud Berahman said at a conference on Iran-Africa trade opportunities in the city of Zanjan on Sunday.

Africa boasts a staggering $1.5 trillion in trade turnover, which is split quite evenly between imports and exports, Berahman said at the conference.

He pointed to the continent's rich natural resources, environmental assets, and agricultural potential, which remain largely untapped by Iranian traders.

He stressed that Iran must work to carve out a larger share of the African market.

Over the past 40 years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has never given up on its principled policy towards Africa due to political and cultural commonalities, despite the sanctions, pressure, and disruptions of the West, and has always maintained itself alongside the people and countries of Africa.

During the Iranian calendar years 1384 and 1385 (March 2005-March 2007), the relations between Iran and the African continent increased in terms of trade. Still, since 1386, the economic relations between Iran and Africa have decreased due to the economic crisis and cruel sanctions against Iran.

Surveys show that in the past years, due to the lack of restoration of economic relations with Africa, the amount of trade with the countries of this continent has remained at the level of $1.2 billion, but according to Mohammad-Sadegh Ghanadzadeh, Iranian Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) deputy head for International Business Promotion, facilitating the trade route with Africa is happening now and it is expected that the trade figure with this continent will reach $10 billion in the next three years.

In fact, good steps have been taken to use Africa's capacity, and Africa can be a suitable market for Iranian goods, Ghanadzadeh stated.

Last year, the official referred to the beginning of the 13th government's measures to develop relations with the African continent and said: "Over the past [Iranian calendar] year 1400 (ended on March 20, 2022), a series of measures have been initiated, which were resulted in the visit of about 60 African trade delegations, active presence in the exhibitions of this continent, the opening of 10 trade centers, and the dispatch of three commercial attachés.

“As the result of these measures, Iran's trade with Africa experienced a 100-percent growth from $650 million in the Iranian year 1399, and also in the first nine months of the year 1401, Iran-Africa trade was equal to the total trade of the previous year, and we also experienced a growth of about 700 percent in the export of technical and engineering services”, he added.

Also as announced by Ruhollah Latifi, the value of trade between Iran and Africa rose two percent in the past Iranian calendar year 1401 (ended on March 20).

He put Iran-Africa annual trade at 2.545 million tons worth $1.278 billion.

Iran exported 2.452 million tons of products valued at $1.183 billion to 49 African countries in the past year, showing one percent fall, and imported 92,898 tons of goods worth $95.316 million from 23 African countries, indicating 59 percent growth, year on year, according to Latifi.

EF/MA