Iran Eyes $1 Billion Annual Trade with Saudi Arabia: TPOI
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Following the restoration of political relations with Saudi Arabia, Iran aims to have $1 billion annual trade with the Arab country in the short term and promoting it to $2 billion in the medium term, an official said.
Director General of West Asia Department of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI) Farzad Piltan made the remarks in an interview with Mehr News Agency and stated that the value of the two countries' trade exchanges was about $800 million over the previous years with the balance of trade in favor of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
In the early 2010s, the volume of trade exchange between Iran and Saudi Arabia faced a declining trend and bilateral trade reached about $200 million and then, the relations between the two countries declined considerably after the severance of diplomatic ties, he added.
After the recent thaw in relations between the two neighboring countries, achieving $1 billion trade with Saudi Arabia in the short term and also $2 billion in the medium term have been on agenda based on the current and previous capacities of the two counties, Piltan noted.
He said Iran and Saudi Arabia enjoy high potentials and capabilities to promote their bilateral ties, particularly in the economic field.
In addition to importing and exporting goods, the two countries enjoy high potentials to cooperate with each other in the field of investment, joint industrial production and implementation of technical and engineering projects, etc, he stated.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he referred to the Iran-Saudi Arabia Joint Economic Commission meetings and pointed out that the 7th meeting of the Commission was held in Riyadh in 2005.
Turning to the revival of 20 cooperation documents inked between the two countries, he said suitable ways have been paved for the two countries with the possibility of updating and revising about 20 cooperation documents in the field of development of trade infrastructures.