Qatar has issued a permit for Iran to launch a major trade center in the Arab country, says Iranian Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian.
Speaking to the Iranian state TV from the Qatari capital Doha, Mehrabian said on Monday that the Iranian trade center will be launched in a prestigious building in one of Doha’s top neighborhoods.
“The permit for this center was issued today and one of the best buildings in central Doha, in a very good location, was allocated to the center,” Mehrabian said.
The Iranian energy minister arrived in Doha on Sunday to co-chair the eight round of intergovernmental committee meetings between Iran and Qatar. His trip marks a major breakthrough in the growing economic ties between the two countries
A senior trade and business delegation accompany Mehrabian and other government officials during the visit to Doha.
Heads of the chambers of commerce of Iran and Qatar signed major cooperation agreements on Monday, including one to form a Council of Trade with Iran that will operate as a subsidiary of Qatar’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Setting up an Iranian trade center in Qatar has been sought since an administrative government led by Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi came to office in August. Raeisi had told Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdul Aziz al-Thani in Tehran in February that an Iranian trade center in Doha will play a major role in boosting economic ties between the two countries.
The official IRNA news agency said on Monday that Mehrabian had met Sheikh Khalid earlier in the day. It said that the Qatari PM had issued a special decree after the meeting to facilitate the implementation of agreements reached between the two countries during the new round of intergovernmental committee meetings.