UAE Says It Wants to Be Iran 1st Trade Partner

The chairman of the UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry said that his country is ready to become Iran's first trade partner.

Abdullah Mohamed Al Mazrouei made the remarks in a meeting with Iran's Head of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Gholam-Hossein Shafeie where he said, "The statistics show that currently, the United Arab Emirates is the second trading partner of Iran and the main trading partner of the country among the countries of the region, but nevertheless, considering the existing conditions, we can expect that the two countries will develop their cooperation significantly."

Stating that the cooperation between Iran and the UAE is of strategic importance for both countries, Al Mazrouei added "For us in the UAE, cooperation with Iran means connecting with the countries of Central Asia and Afghanistan, and therefore we can also take advantage of Iran's transit opportunities. After the governments of the two countries develop joint political relations, it can be expected that the private sectors will also take the initiative to develop cooperation."

Gholam-Hossein Shafeie, for his part, pointed to the important role of the United Arab Emirates among Iran's business partners and stated, "The fact that the volume of trade between the two countries has reached 24 billion dollars is a good sign that favorable trade relations have been established and these relations can develop significantly."

Stating that Iran is not just an 80 million people market for the UAE, Shafeie explained, "Given that Iran is geographically a communication hub for the region, the common transit capacity between the two countries is also very high and we can expect a market capacity of 400 million people in that regard."

According to the head of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, Iran's membership in economic unions such as Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Eurasian Economic Union shows well what capacity there is for bilateral and multilateral cooperation, and given that it is possible to use the capacities of the private sector. - Mehr