New ICCIMA President Elected

EghtesadOnline: Hossein Selahvarzi has been elected the new head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.

News ID: ۷۵۲۶۱۴

19 June 2023

Hossein Selahvarzi has been elected the new head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.

He will be at the helm of the chamber for the next four years, replacing Gholamhossein Shafei.

The election of the new president came after a March vote for new members.

“The government had no intervention in the process of election,” Selahvarzi was quoted as saying by IRNA.

At a press conference following his election on Sunday, he noted that transparency will be top the agenda of ICCIMA under his leadership and the chamber’s organizational structure should be reformed.

Selahvarzi underlined the importance of re-inviting European businesses after their pullback from the Iranian market as a result of the US sanctions.

ICCIMA, known as “private sector parliament” is a 140-year-old institution and represents Iran’s private businesses.

Describing chambers of commerce as “the only honest observers” of policymaking developments and economic trends in Iran, Mohsen Jalalpour, former president of ICCIMA, said despite all the criticisms leveled at them, they can play a key role in making correct economic decisions and sending important signals from the private sector to the policymaking system.

“The estimates and analyses of the chambers of commerce are vital, if decision-makers are willing to design a win-win game for all economic players. The point is that the representatives of this large organization are members of different manufacturing, commercial, industrial and mining sectors. Contrary to what is believed, the members of the chamber are not from a specific trade and do not have common interests. Therefore, if competent people make up the chamber’s board, they can be vigilant watchers for the country’s business environment and work to consolidate important economic concepts such as competition and ownership,” he wrote for the Persian economic daily Donya-e-Eqtesad.

Jalalpour believes the main mission of the chamber is monitoring the business environment and not bargaining to gain more privileges and benefits.

“The leading members of the chambers should be the voice of the real private sector that does not seek to acquire wealth through privileges and rent-seeking practices. Therefore, the representative of the chamber should have the ability to distinguish between decent demands from rent-seeking demands,” he said.