TEHRAN- Iran exported commodities worth $110 million to Oman during the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-July 21), the secretary of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO)’s desk on trade with Oman announced.

Soheila Rasoulinejad said that constructional materials, agricultural products and foodstuffs, as well as gas condensate constitute Iran’s exports to Oman during the mentioned period, TPO published on its website.

TPO held the first meeting of its Commodity-Country Desk on trade with Oman presided by Farzad Piltan, the director-general of TPO’s Office of Arabian and African Countries, on January 8.

The meeting was aimed at investigating the ways for increasing exports of constructional materials to Oman and removing the barriers related to transporting these materials to the Arab country, and was participated by the related state-run and private sector officials including representatives of some exporting and marine transport companies.

Despite the U.S. reimposition of sanctions against the Islamic Republic, Oman is getting closer to Iran both politically and economically. There is also the same approach adopted by Iran, as Iranian companies now prefer to conduct trade with Oman rather than the United Arab Emirates (UAE), given that the UAE is highly complying with the sanctions.

Iran is somehow replacing some of its previous strategic trade partners such as UAE with Oman, considering the Sultanate as an economic-trade hub.

Over the past year, there have been many meetings and negotiations between trade and economic officials from the state-run and private sectors of the two sides with the aim of strengthening and expanding bilateral trade ties.

During the 18th meeting of Iran-Oman Joint Economic Committee in Tehran in last December, Omani minister of commerce and industry said his country is trying to boost its trade and economic ties with Iran, stressing that this goal can be achieved through more cooperation between the two sides’ private sectors.

Ali bin Masoud al Sunaidy also said, “We will make the most efforts to provide incentives for joint investment and also promote bilateral trade cooperation between the two countries.”

Stressing that a very proper condition is available for invigorating the bilateral trade, the Omani official said the two sides can also take the advantage of bartering to expand their trade ties.

Addressing the same meeting, Iran’s Former Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Reza Rahmani said while there are potential and capabilities for boosting the trade turnover between Iran and Oman to $5 billion, the figure is currently $1 billion.

The International North South Transit Corridor (INSTC) can help the two countries elevate their bilateral trade to this level, the minister noted.

There are some problems regarding money transferring between the two sides’ traders which are hoped to be resolved through strategies to be adopted by the central banks of the two countries, Rahmani further said.

Meanwhile, Iran-Oman Joint Chamber of Commerce and Iran Mine House (IMH) signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation for the expansion of the Iranian private sector’s presence in Oman earlier this month.

The MOU was signed by the Head of Iran-Oman Joint Chamber of Commerce Mohsen Zarabi and IMH Head Mohammadreza Bahraman.

The mentioned MOU is aimed at helping Iranian companies active in the field of mining to expand their presence in the Omani market, while increasing the export of mineral products through Oman, facilitating joint ventures, and also to form specialized mining committees.

Speaking in the signing ceremony, Zarabi pointed to Oman’s ninth five-year development plan which is focused on five major axes of mining, industry, tourism, fisheries, transportation, and logistics and said: “Mining is one of the most important axes of this five-year plan.”

Collaboration with IMH in solving the problems of businessmen active in Oman, holding training courses on Oman laws and regulations and how to enter the Omani market, establishing a specialized mining committee under the Joint Chamber Technical, Engineering and Investment Services Committee for trade with Oman, were some of the goals of the MOU mentioned by the official.

Bahraman, also expressed his satisfaction with the signing of the first memorandum of understanding between Iran Mining House and a joint chamber and said: "Certainly, this will be the beginning of new activities with other joint chambers."

MA/MA