Chairman of the Federation of the UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry Abdullah Al Mazrouei said that his country intends to become Iran’s number one trade partner.
Mazrouei, who is on a trip to the Iranian capital to attend Iran Expo 2023, met with his Iranian counterpart Gholam Hossein Shafei in Tehran on Tuesday.
Speaking during the meeting, the president of Iran Chamber of Commerce termed the UAE as one of the most significant neighbors of Iran.
Shafei said that the UAE is now Iran’s second trade partner following China, adding that the volume of trade between Tehran and Abu Dhabi stands at roughly $24 billion.
Noting that Iran links Afghanistan, the Central Asian countries and the countries in the Caucasus region to the high seas, he said that Iran therefore should not be seen as a market with 80 million population, it can rather provide the UAE with access to a market of over 400 million population.
Shafei also said that Iran’s presence in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union can give a boost to its cooperation with the UAE.
Speaking in the meantime, the UAE side said that the Iranian and UAE economies complement each other.
Al Mazrouei said that the UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry stands ready to cooperate with Iran Chamber of Commerce to remove the hurdles on the way of bilateral trade.
Shafei also said that the UAE used to be Iran’s number one trade partner when the volume of trade between the two countries stood at $30 billion.
He expressed hope that the annual trade between Iran and the UAE will once again hit $30 billion soon.
An Iran-UAE Business Forum is held at the headquarters of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) in Tehran, Iran, May 9, 2023.
Iran Chamber of Commerce also held a Business Forum of Iran and the UAE on Tuesday where the two sides explored ways for enhancement of cooperation.
The president of Iran Chamber of Commerce addressed the forum noting that the presence of the UAE businesspersons in this event is indicative of the determination of both sides to make more efforts to promote the level of ties.
Shafei called for preparing the infrastructures in the fields of transportation and standard to further upgrade relations.
Mazrouei also addressed the forum where he said that Iran and the UAE, as two strategic trade partners, can set a model for other nations.
Underlining the role of the private sectors in expansion of economic and trade relations between Iran and the UAE, he said that the governments of both countries have to prevent the ground for an increased role of the private sectors.
Businesspeople from both sides held B2B meetings on the sidelines of the forum.