Page 17 - IRANRptMay20

5.0​ External Sector & Trade
5.1​ Balance of payments and current account
Iran’s opens borders with neighbours for trade
Iran targets big trade boost with neighbours
Iran has said most of its border crossings with neighbouring countries have reopened for goods to pass, but passenger crossings remain limited, IFP reported on April 27.
The announcement came as Iran repatriated more than 30 Iranian nationals from next-door Azerbaijan. Iran’s embassy in Baku on April 27 said that they had become trapped inside Azerbaijan because of border closures performed in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) fears.
Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Gholamreza Ansari noted that Turkmenistan has shut its borders to all countries, including neighbours and non-neighbours, because of the coronavirus pandemic. He said: “According to the claim of Turkmen officials, there has been no case [of coronavirus] in their country, so they have closed almost all borders to protect themselves against the coronavirus”.
However, reports from Ashgabat in recent days have suggested​ Turkmenistan has quietly opened its border crossings ​with Iran—there are claims of new Iranian products appearing in the shops of the capital and elsewhere. The Turkmen leadership has come under pressure with foodstuffs becoming scarce. Products including biscuits and flour became hard to find.
Ansari added that various missions were holding consultations with host countries to pave the way for the resumption of business travel between Iran and their nations. “We have asked our missions to start negotiations with the local authorities on ways the two sides can figure out to allow for safe travel by individuals,” he said.
Iranian Deputy Industry Minister Hossein Modares Khiabani has said his ministry wants to quickly raise the annual value of exports to Iran’s 15 neighbours to $50bn, Tasnim news agency reported.
Crucial to that strategy will be taking advantage of a preferential trade agreement that came into effect in November between Iran and member states of the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU)—namely Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
“Our goal is to be able to meet five percent of our neighbouring countries’ needs, which would amount to more than $50 billion a year considering the total imports of all the 15 countries which is at least $1 trillion annually,” Modares Khiabani was reported as saying.
“Necessary planning and investigations have been made for achieving this target,” he added. Iran shares a border with the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Oman, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kuwait, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Based on data published by Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), bilateral trade with these countries stood at more than $36.5bn in the last
17​ IRAN Country Report May 2020 www.intellinews.com