Iranian Trade Team Visiting Muscat

A trade delegation from the Iranian private sector, headed by Minister of Industries, Mining and Trade Reza Fatemi-Amin, arrived in Muscat, Oman, on Tuesday. 
According to Mohsen Zarrabi, the head of Iran-Oman Chamber of Commerce, representatives of two renowned mining companies, three from pharmaceutical and medical equipment firms, two from the field of energy and five businesses in food production and fisheries, all from the private sector, are accompanying the minister.
The visit comes on the occasion of 19th session of Iran-Oman Commission, during which Tehran and Muscat will negotiate ways of increasing bilateral ties in economic fields, such as trade, industries, mines, air and marine transportation, transit, energy, technical and engineering services and tourism.
The Sultanate of Oman and Iran discussed enhancement of trade and investment cooperation between the two countries. 
"Members of the Board of Directors of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry discussed prospects of enhancing areas of trade and investment cooperation between the Sultanate of Oman and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and increasing trade exchange and investment opportunities in various economic sectors during their meeting with the Iranian trade delegation," Oman News Agency said in a statement on Tuesday.  

$1b Trade in 10 Months

Iran and Oman traded $1 billion worth of goods during the first 10 months of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2021-Jan. 20), registering a 73% rise compared with the similar period of last year, according to Zarrabi.
“We expect the figure to rise to $1.2 billion by the end of the year [March 20],” he was quoted as saying by IRNA.
According to the official, Iran’s exports to Oman in the last Iranian year (March 2020-21) reached $438 million, with imports standing at $434 million.
“Our southern neighbor imports a total of $24 billion worth of commodities every year. We can compete in the Omani market with other rivals in supplying local demand. Our share of this market was at 0.7% in the fiscal 2013-14 when our joint chamber of commerce was founded. Three years ago, when bilateral trade reached a record high of $1.16 billion, our share of the Omani market reached 3.6%. We have the capacity to increase the figure to 10%,” he said.
Zarrabi noted that Oman can be an ideal platform for reexport of Iranian goods.
“Thanks to the location of Omani ports and the fact that the country is free from any sanctions, we can export our products to this Persian Gulf state before reexporting to European and North American countries. Oman has free trade agreements in place with 16 Arab and African countries, four European countries [Switzerland, Norway, Sweden and Liechtenstein], as well as with the US and Singapore, which can be of great help to Iranian exports.”  

Oman Chamber of Commerce B2B Meetings

Last month, Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized B2B meetings between businesspeople from Oman and Iran in the food security, agriculture, construction and contracting sectors.
The meeting was held during the visit of Iran’s trade delegation, which aimed to enhance trade and investment cooperation between the two countries in promising sectors, Times of Oman reported.
Ridha Juma Al Saleh, chairman of OCCI, stressed the importance of this visit in achieving economic diversification to meet the aspirations of the two countries.
The meeting was attended by Ali Najafi Khoshroudi, ambassador of Iran to Oman, and several officials from both sides. 

Tourism Cooperation

Iran and Oman are planning to expand cooperation in the field of tourism, Zarrabi told Trend News Agency in an interview.
Tourism has become a priority for Oman in the past several years, so this could be an opportunity for Iran to capitalize on, he said.
The number of Omani tourists visiting Iran increased to 85,000 in 2019, mostly due to medical and religious tourism, generating about $250 million for Iran.
Iranians have invested in establishing several healthcare clinics in Oman and Iran seeks to attract more health tourists from Oman by offering good quality services. The visa requirement issue has been resolved between the two countries to boost tourism. Iranians can obtain one-year multiple visa upon arrival at Oman's airports while Iran has lifted visa requirement for Omanis.
Zarrabi said following cooperation in tourism, Oman has recently approved to lift visa requirements, to more Iranian tourists to visi the country. 
Oman Air launched charter flights to Iran at a rate of two per week as of Jan. 21, the Civil Aviation Authority of the sultanate said.
"The Civil Aviation Authority issued its approval to operate the national carrier, Oman Air, for charter flights to the Islamic Republic of Iran at a rate of two flights per week, one of which to Tehran and the other to Shiraz, starting from January 21, 2022," CAA said in a statement.