TEHRAN – Iran and Tanzania chambers of commerce signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint trade committee on the sidelines of the fifth Iran-Tanzania Joint Economic Committee meeting which was held during October 18-21 in Dar es Salaam, the ICCIMA portal reported.

The MOU was signed by the representatives of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) and the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA), with Iranian Agriculture Minister Gholamreza Nouri Ghezelcheh and Tanzania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mahmoud Thabit Kombo in attendance.

As reported, the MOU aims to increase communication between the two countries' economic operators to strengthen cooperation, promote new forms of economic interactions, and ensure the mutual benefits of the business communities.

In total, Iran and Tanzania signed seven MOUs for cooperation in various sectors during the fifth Joint Economic Committee meeting of the two countries.

Iranian agriculture minister announced about the expansion of cooperation between Iran and Tanzania in the fields of agriculture, petrochemicals and tourism.

Ghezelcheh who traveled to Tanzania to attend the two countries’ fifth Joint Economic Committee meeting, said this meeting is held after several years of postponement, adding that 11 documents have been prepared in various areas of the governmental and private sectors, which will be finalized and signed at the end of the meeting.

“The Leader of the Islamic Revolution and the president emphasize on the development of relations with Africa, and we hope that the signing of cooperation documents will bring these developing relations into a new phase”, the minister further emphasized.

During a meeting with Tanzania’s Deputy Foreign Minister Dennis Lazaro Londo, the Iranian minister called for the expansion of economic ties with the African country.

In the meeting, Nouri Ghezelcheh emphasized the necessity of expanding the relations between the two countries in various fields and said: “Iran and Tanzania have a lot in common and the cultural interests of both sides paves the ways for the development of relations.”

He said: “We prioritized the joint committee of the two countries, and in the new government, this is the first joint committee meeting to be held, and this shows the interest of our country in developing relations with Tanzania.”

Lazaro Lando for his part said the visit of Iranian delegation to Tanzania is expected to provide the basis for the development of communication between the two countries.

In mid-March, Iranian and Tanzanian tax officials have signed the draft of an agreement to eliminate double taxation on income taxes and prevent tax evasion with the presence of the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Tanzania.

As reported, the draft was signed by Hossein Abdollahi, director general of the Legal Office and Tax Contracts of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and William M. Moja, the acting commissioner of the policy analysis department of the Ministry of Finance of Tanzania.

According to Abdollahi, the two sides have so far held three rounds of negotiations to prepare the mentioned agreement for signing.

This agreement has various goals such as the elimination of double taxation in the two countries, the attraction of direct investment, further development of economic relations and expansion of tax cooperation between the two countries, exchange of information to promote transparency in the tax behavior of the parties, assistance in tax collection, and the provision of facilities, the official explained.

The final signing and approval of this agreement will be done in the legislative assemblies of the two countries in the near future.

Tanzania is considered one of the most important countries in East Africa and Iran is taking new measures to expand economic ties with this country.

In late November 2022, Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) held the first exclusive exhibition of Iranian products and services in Tanzania in collaboration with the Iranian Trade Center in the African country to showcase the Islamic Republic’s trade and export capacities.

According to Ra’ed Mousavi, the head of the Iranian Trade Center in Tanzania, this exhibition was the most appropriate platform to increase the knowledge of East African countries, especially Tanzania, about the products, services, and technological advancements of Iranian companies.

According to Mousavi, companies active in various fields including the agricultural sector, mines and industrial machinery, construction, as well as medicine and medical equipment participate in the first exclusive exhibition of the export capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Tanzania.

In mid-July 2023, Iran’s late President Ebrahim Raisi also took a visit to three African countries of Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

Economic experts believe that the president's visit to Africa provided the basis for increasing Iran's presence in the 60-billion-dollar economy of the African continent and will increase the level of activity of Iranian traders and businessmen in this continent.

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.

As reported, 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, but 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 Mohammed-Sadeq Ghanadzadeh, the director general of the Africa Department of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), 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.

EF/MA