Iran’s trade with Oman reached $870 million during the seven months since the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 21-October 22) to register a 50.77% upsurge compared with the similar period of last year, according to Iran’s commercial attaché to the Sultanate.
“Expansion of marine transportation between the two countries, facilitation of visa granting procedures and an increase in Iranian companies established in Oman are among the main reasons for this increase in trade,” Abbas Abdolkhani was quoted by ILNA as saying.
If the same trend continues, said the official, Tehran-Muscat will experience a two-fold increase in bilateral trade by the end of the current fiscal compared with the previous year.
President of Iran-Oman Chamber of Commerce Mohsen Zarrabi said in October that trade between the two countries is expected to reach $1 billion by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2019).
According to Iran’s Embassy in Oman, as many as 25 trade delegations from the private sector were exchanged between the commerce chambers of the two countries in the fiscal 2017-18.
Expansion of Ties Discussed by Iran, Oman Private Sectors
In an October visit to Muscat, representatives of Iran’s private sector met with Omani officials and surveyed ways of expanding bilateral cooperation in a host of fields including banking, joint investments, technical and engineering services, fisheries, and information technology among others.
Heading the Iranian delegation was the chairman of Iran-Oman joint Chamber of Commerce Mohsen Zarrabi, who was accompanied by Chairman of Ahvaz Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture Shahla Amvari as well as head of Bandar Abbas Chamber of Commerce Mohammad Amin Sabbaghi.
During a meeting with Oman’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Ali bin Masoud Ali al-Sunaidy, Zarrabi requested for Iran to be able to use Omani ports for transshipment of Iranian transit goods.
The two sides also evaluated the benefits and capacities Salalah Port and Free Zone can offer to serve Iran-Oman commercial interactions.
In a separate meeting with undersecretary of Fisheries Wealth with Oman’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Hamed Said al-Oufi, the two sides explored the possibility of increasing seafood exports from Iran to Oman with the help of their private sectors.
“Iran is very competent in the field of fisheries. We can supply Oman’s market for such products and even use that market to export our products to other countries in the region,” Zarrabi said.
The official said Omani companies can invest in seafood production in Iran with the aim of exporting the products to third countries.
Al-Oufi attested to Iran’s capabilities in the field of fisheries and expressed Oman’s readiness for cooperation in the field and re-exports of Iranian seafood through Oman.
Zarrabi said al-Oufi will be paying a visit to Iran within the next two months. The Iranian official asked for a fisheries forum to be held during the stay where officials, producers and businesspeople from the two countries can become familiar with each other’s capabilities and products and engage in B2B meetings. Al-Oufi welcomed the proposal.
Sohar-Bandar Abbas Shipping Line Resumes Services
Iran-Oman Chamber of Commerce has announced that following the negotiations by the Iranian Embassy in Muscat with Omani officials, the direct shipping line between Oman’s Sohar Port and Iran’s Bandar Abbas Port on the shores of the Strait of Hormuz has resumed its activity, the news portal of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture reported on Saturday.
The shipping line was launched in mid 2015 by the private sectors of the two neighboring countries, yet the commuting of commercial vessels along this marine route came to a halt from early November after the new round of US sanctions against Iran came into effect.
Iran-Oman Chamber of Commerce has noted that only commodities that are not included in the sanctions list will be traded via this route.
A new shipping route was launched between Iran’s Khorramshahr Port and Oman’s Sohar Port early this year. Chairman of Iran-Oman Chamber of Commerce, Mohsen Zarrabi said at the time that opening of two other shipping routes, namely Chabahar-Sohar and Bushehr-Sohar, was also on the agenda of the joint chamber.
The Khorramshahr-Sohar route is expected to increase bilateral trade to $5 billion in the next four years, he added
Sohar Port is a deep-sea port located in Sohar, the capital and largest city of Al Batinah North Governorate midway between Dubai and Muscat.
Iranian small-sized ships can now enjoy services at Al Suwaiq Port in northeast Oman, Chairman of Iran-Oman Chamber of Commerce Mohsen Zarrabi said three months ago.
After three years of negotiations, Al Suwaiq Port extended services, since early September, to Iranian ships of less than 1,000 tons carrying food, agricultural products and construction materials to the neighboring country.
According to Abdolkhani the proximity of Al Suwaiq Port to Iran’s ports of Jask and Bandar Abbas, and Oman’s Muscat and Al Khazain would reduce trade costs between the two countries.
“Iranian traders no longer need to send fruits and vegetables to the UAE’s Port of Sharjah for re-exportation to Oman,” he was quoted as saying by the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran’s news outlet.
Al Suwaiq Port started its first official commercial operation on August 31 in the presence of Ahmed Al Futaisi, Omani minister of transport and communications, Times of Oman reported.
Iran’s southeastern port of Chabahar will pair with Oman’s Sohar as sister ports in the near future, said the head of Sistan-Baluchestan Cultural Heritage, Handcraft and Tourism directorate, Alireza Jalalzaee last month.
The move would help improve cultural, economic and commercial ties between the two ports and eventually boost friendship and tourism between the two nations, mana.ir quoted him as saying.
Sisterhood or twinhood between towns, cities, counties, provinces, regions, states, and even countries in geographically and politically distinct areas refers to a form of legal or social agreement to promote cultural and commercial ties.
The modern concept of twinning, conceived after the Second World War in 1947, was intended to foster friendship and understanding between different cultures and between former foes as an act of peace and reconciliation and to encourage trade and tourism.
