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Iran, Qatar to set up joint free trade zone

7 July 2014 16:06 (UTC+04:00)
Iran, Qatar to set up joint free trade zone

By Sara Rajabova

Despite sharing different point of view on several issues, Iran and Qatar are committed to boost their economic relations.

To this end, the two Persian Gulf littoral states, that possess 50 percent of the world's natural gas reserves together with Russia, are set to establish a joint free trade zone in Iran's southern province of Bushehr.

Senior advisor to Iranian president, Akbar Torkan said two Qatar ports-Doha and Bushehr-will serve to boost the two countries' trade relations, Iranian media reported.

He added that the representatives of the private sectors of the two countries are scheduled to hold a meeting in Bushehr or Doha every three months.

Iran and Qatar have made several agreements over the past few years to further develop their economic relationship, most specifically their oil and gas cooperation both within and outside of OPEC.

The two states control together the South Pars Gas Field, a massive global natural gas reserve, 38 percent of which lies under Iran's territorial waters.

Since imposition of the Western sanctions on Iran over its nuclear energy program, Tehran has given special attention to its relations with neighbor and regional countries.

Iran, that has been facing embargos by the European Union and the United States and experiencing economic difficulties, works hard to boost economic and trade relations with its neighbors.

Thus, by establishing free economic zone with Qatar, Iran will take advantage from lots of projects and further expand relations with its Persian Gulf neighbor.

Qatar could be a good market for the Iranian exporters of food and construction material.

Member of the presiding board of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, Mohammad Hossein Barkhordar also said recently general agreements had been reached between Iran and Qatar regarding the trade zone.

"Since joint investments with neighboring states can pave the way for the influx of foreign capital into the country, the expansion of cooperative ventures with Qatar herald a market boom for entrepreneurs grappling with stagflation," Barkhordar said.

Besides, Iran and Qatar have signed a memorandum of understanding to facilitate their bilateral trade.

According to the MOU, Iran will increase exports of food and agricultural products, seafood, minerals, and construction materials to Qatar.

Qatar was the 33rd most important trading partner of Iran in the previous Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 20, 2014, according to the Iranian Customs Administration.

The annual non-oil trade between Iran and Qatar amounted to $114.3 million in the previous year. Qatar exported $17.7 million worth of non-oil goods to Iran and imported $96.6 million worth of non-oil goods from the country in previous Iranian year (March 2013-March 2014).

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