A business conference between Iran and Syria is scheduled to be held in Tehran on May 30 for expanding bilateral trade, Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, the host of the event, reported.
Latest data show Iran’s exports to Syria stood at $160 million in the first nine months of last fiscal year (March 21-Dec. 21, 2021), registering a 90% growth compared with $84 million in the preceding year’s corresponding period, according to the chairman of the Iran-Syria Chamber of Commerce.
“Most of the exported goods are related to engineering [parts and components of steam turbines], food products and pharmaceutical industries,” Keyvan Kashefi was also quoted as saying by the news portal of ICCIMA.
The official noted that Iran’s total exports during the period stood at $35 billion and Syria was the 21st export destination.
Imports from Syria stood at $22.9 million during the same period, 53% higher than $15 million in the similar period of last year.
Phosphate was the most important imported commodity.
Iran’s total imports in the nine-month period stood at $36.9 billion and Syria was the 49th exporter to Iran.
Plan to Establish Joint Bank, Free Zone
Stating that the end of the war in Syria is the beginning of a new era of economic relations between the two countries, Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Rostam Qasemi announced that Iran and Syria will establish a joint bank, Mehr News Agency reported.
Referring to a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, the minister said, "During the meeting with the Syrian president, economic issues, as well as obstacles and problems in economic relations between Iran and Syria, were discussed. A joint committee is set to be formed between Iran and Syria."
Qasemi referred to his meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad on diplomatic issues between the two countries and said, "We reached good agreements. A joint bank is scheduled to be established in Syria. In this regard, Iranian and Syrian banks should have branches in each other's countries."
Decisions were made on various issues during the visit with the Syrian Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade Mohammad Samer al-Khalil, especially the establishment of a joint free zone between the two countries, he added.
Looking to expand its economic links with Syria, Iran sent dozens of commercial and industrial delegations to Damascus earlier this year to discuss ways of developing economic cooperation with their Syrian counterparts.
According to Director General of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran’s Office of Arab and African Countries, Iran's share in the Syrian market has been increasing.
Farzad Piltan, however, added that it does not exceed 3% of the total market and has almost no share in the building and construction materials market, the Middle East Monitor reported.
Piltan pointed out that Turkish exports to Syria ranked first with 38% market share, followed by China with 20%, Egypt with %, Russia with 4%, and India and Lebanon with just over 3% each.
Regarding Iranian investments in Syria, economic expert Firas Shabo told Arabi 21 that Iran has secured many projects to develop roads, transportation and basic services, but their public announcement needs time, especially in light of Russian-Iranian competition in Syria.
Shabo noted that he expects Moscow and Tehran to reach an agreement on the "partitioning" of the Syrian economy, with Russia getting ports, gas and phosphate investments, while Iran gets industrial, infrastructure and real-estate projects.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has called for efforts to boost relations between Iran and Syria, highlighting the strong determination of the two countries’ governments to expand bilateral cooperation.
“This connection and ties are vital for both countries and must not be allowed to weaken, but we must strengthen it as much as possible,” he said in a meeting with the Syrian president in Tehran earlier this month. The meeting was also attended by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Leader.ir reported.
The Syrian president thanked the Iranian nation and government for their support, saying Iran’s steadfastness and unwavering stances in the past four decades on regional issues have shown the entire world that its path is a correct and principled one.
Iranian Trade Center Inaugurated in Syria
Iran Trade Center was inaugurated in Damascus on Nov. 30, the news portal of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture reported.
According to Gholamhossein Shafei, the head of ICCIMA, the center’s inauguration offers an opportunity to strengthen economic relations and increase trade between Iran and Syria.
“The center features a database that monitors economic activities in Syria so that traders and artisans in the country can receive various information related to Iranian companies directly,” he said.
He added that the center is also a place for import, export and marketing and is of great importance in strengthening economic relations between the two countries.
“The center has commercial offices that enable Iranian private companies to conduct business exchanges,” the chairman of Iran-Syria Chamber of Commerce said.
Kashefi added that the center is important for the development of relations between the two countries and will be the link between the chambers of commerce of Iran and Syria.
Iran’s Industries Minister Reza Fatemi-Amin was also present in the inauguration.
"The center, a 12-story building situated in a 4,000-square-meter plot of land, has been purchased and equipped by ICCIMA. Two floors are dedicated to exhibition spaces and the other floors to different services, including marketing, transportation, legal advisory, banking and insurance,” Kashefi was earlier quoted as saying by IRNA.
During his stay in Syria, Fatemi-Amin expressed the Iranian company’s readiness to contribute to reopening factories in Syria and establishing joint industries.
In a statement to reporters after visiting a number of factories in the industrial city of Adra, Fatemi-Amin said the aim of his visit is to develop economic relations between the two countries and support them to restore the glory of the Syrian industry, lost as a result of the war on terrorism against the country, SANA reported.
The Iranian minister and the accompanying delegation’s visit to Syria included several official meetings and the opening of the second Iranian products exhibition.
Free Trade
Tehran and Damascus have a free trade agreement in place, which can have a significant effect on easing trade between the two sides.
“Syria’s high demand for agricultural products, foodstuff, home appliances, pharmaceuticals, construction material, sanitary ware, agro machinery and equipment, and Iran’s capabilities in these areas, coupled with reasonable prices and high quality can pave the way for boosting commercial interactions between the two sides,” Fatemi-Amin said.
Syria and Iran concluded a free trade agreement in February 2012, which included reducing customs duties to 4% on goods traded between the two countries, cancelling all quantitative restrictions and lifting the ban on imports with similar effects.
The agreement came into force on March 12, 2012, which included an agreement to allow commercial trucks to pass between the two countries through Iraq.
