President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Gholam Hossein Shafei has voiced the readiness of the Iranian private sector to facilitate the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products and animal feed via Persian Gulf waters in southern Iran.
Shafei made the remarks during a meeting in Tehran on Tuesday with Ukraine’s Ambassador to Iran Sergey Burdilyak in which the two discussed ways for increasing economic cooperation and enhancement of bilateral trade exchanges as well.
He said that the war in Ukraine has affected the entire Europe as Ukraine is the largest country in Europe and has a special position in the continent’s agriculture and mining.
Noting that all countries are concerned about further exacerbating the situation of global food market due to the Ukraine war, Shafei said that “fortunately despite the existence of such statistics, our economic exchanges with Ukraine has been acceptable.”
He also referred to the blockage of Ukraine’s transit routes due to the war in the country and said that the Iranian private sector is ready to provide the country with an access to Persian Gulf to help exports of its agricultural products and animal feed.
The president of Iran Chamber of Commerce said that there are different fields for cooperation between Iran and Ukraine, adding that the Iranian private sector is ready to consider further enhancement of economic relations.
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In the meantime, the Ukrainian ambassador said that cooperation between Iran and Ukraine can be followed at three levels: firstly at the level of helping the removal of today’s urgent needs of Ukraine; secondly at the level of reconstruction of damages of the war; and thirdly at the level of post-construction where the country has distanced from its current situation.
Referring to Ukraine’s current needs, he said that the country is now in dire need for gasoline, gas oil, Sodium carbonate, tomatoes and salt.
Ukraine currently needs Iran’s humanitarian supplies of food and medicine, Burdilyak said.
Noting that after the war ends in Ukraine, the country would need constructional material, bitumen, and large glasses, the ambassador said that as Russia and Belarus used to be the main suppliers of bitumen to Ukraine, the time is ripe for Iran to fill this gap.
He also said that the next step for the Iranian companies would be to participate in reconstruction of Ukrainian refineries, oil tanks and industrial centers.
Burdilyak also referred to the exports of Iranian crude oil to a Polish port and said that since the Iranian crude shipments are due to be sent to Ukraine after being refined in Poland, the Ukrainian governments has made some negotiations with the US Treasury Department for taking the necessary approvals needed for Iran’s oil exports to Poland.
He added that Iran can place a key role to help the international mechanism to persuade Russia to free the Ukrainian ships carrying grains.