Iran, UAE Determined to Expand Trade Ties Despite Politics

EghtesadOnline: Iran and the UAE are determined to expand business ties, despite their political disputes, the Iranian chairman of the two neighboring countries’ joint chamber of commerce says.

News ID: ۷۵۰۷۸۲

23 August 2020

“All spheres of bilateral engagements, including economic ties, are affected by the political climate. Iran and the UAE’s private sectors are trying to help boost economic relations; statistics on four-month foreign trade testify for this statement,” Farshid Farzanegan added.

The UAE was Iran’s third export destination in the four-month period to July 21 with 4.62 million tons of non-oil goods worth $1.21 billion and the share of 14% of Iran’s total exports. The neighboring country was also Iran’s second partner in imports with 1.33 million tons of non-oil goods worth $2.47 billion and the share of 23%, data by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration show.

“Consumer goods are not the only imports from the UAE; machinery and industrial products, cellphones, computers, laptops and graphite electrodes that add up to advanced industries are significant part of imports from the UAE,” he was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency.

Noting that over recent months, exports of agricultural products to the UAE have increased by 16%, Farzanegan said Persian Gulf littoral states are the main customers of Iran’s agricultural products.

His comments came after the UAE reached a deal toward normalizing ties with Israel.

The agreement was a “sovereign decision” that was not directed at Iran, UAE minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, said afterwards.

The UAE has made a “huge mistake” in reaching a deal toward normalizing ties with Israel, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said in reaction to the deal.

Emirates Airline resumed direct flights to Iran last month. It landed its Boeing-777 at Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on July 17. A Covid-19 PCR test is needed for boarding the flight, said an official with IKIA, adding that passengers are required to provide a certificate confirming that they have tested negative for Covid-19 from no later than 96 hours before their flight.

Earlier, a direct route between the southern Iranian city of Shiraz and the Emirati city of Sharjah resumed on July 3 after a four-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.