Iran exported commodities valued at $4.7 billion to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-December 21, 2023), the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) announced.
Mohammad Rezvani-Far said that the UAE was the third top export destination of Iranian goods in the mentioned nine-month period.
The IRICA head also announced that exporting goods worth $15 billion to Iran, the UAE was Iran’s first source of import in the first nine months of this year.
On September 10, 2023, the Financial Times reported that trade between Iran and the United Arab Emirates has increased significantly as Abu Dhabi eased restrictions on business activity between the two neighbors.
The UAE has eased some limitations on corporate registrations and the issuance of visas to companies from Iran in recent months, Financial Times reported, quoting business people and officials.
Iranian financiers are also exploring how to enhance bilateral trade by creating financial mechanisms to fund legitimate transactions, the report added quoting the sources.
The UAE is Iran’s second-largest trade partner. The trade between Iran and the UAE has recovered from a pandemic slump of $11 billion in 2020/2021 to $24 billion in the 12 months ending in March, according to Iranian data.
The trade between the two sides has surpassed the $22 billion recorded in 2012 before U.S.-led sanctions were imposed on the Iranian economy.
Iranian officials have said they are now targeting a further increase in bilateral trade towards $30 billion in the next two years.