Chairman of Iran-Oman Joint Chamber of Commerce Reza Zarrabi said on Saturday that investment in Oman is a win-win strategy.
Zarrabi made the remarks in a business forum of Iranian economic activists and a visiting Omani trade delegation.
He said that Iran has an 8.1% share of Oman’s imports which totals as much as $438 million per annum.
Zarrabi noted that Oman also exports some $434 million of goods to Iran annually which accounts for 1.2% of Iran’s total imports.
He referred to Iran-Oman trade over the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21 – October 22, 2021) and said that bilateral trade between the two countries increased some 45% compared to figures from last year’s corresponding period.
He called on the Omani officials to facilitate further trade with Iran, urging the need for launching direct shipping lines from Omani main ports of Sohar and Salalah to Iran.
Zarrabi also referred to a recent visit to Iran by another Omani delegation led by Zahir bin Mohammed Al Kaabi, a board member of Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where the private sectors of both Iran and Oman underlined the need for setting out an economic roadmap for enhancement of bilateral cooperation.
Speaking in the meantime, Hamood Al Sadi, Chairman of South Bateneh Chamber of Commerce, who is heading the Omani delegation to Tehran, said that easing COVID restrictions and rising oil prices can have a positive impact on relations between Iran and Oman.
He said that Iranian businesspersons can make investments in Al Bateneh Governorate with any amount of capital event without an Omani partner.
Al Sadi noted that Oman has a number of main ports and some smaller ones, all of which has access to airports and free and special zones.
Omani ports provide Iranian businesspeople with good chance for re-exports of their products, he said.
Iranian minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Reza Fatemi Amin recently visited the UAE and Oman in southern Persian Gulf as the administration of President Ebrahim Raeisi has openly announced it is seeking to expand relations with neighboring and regional countries.