Chamber member urges lifting barriers to exports of engineering services
A senior Iranian business leader called for removing obstacles hindering the export of technical and engineering services by “capable Iranian companies,” saying sanctions and Iran’s blacklisting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) have sharply limited their global reach despite strong technical capacity.
Ali Nabavi, head of the Construction and Engineering Services Commission of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, told IRNA that Iranian firms were competitive in transmission lines, oil, water, electricity and gas projects. But unlike goods exports, engineering services cannot bypass sanctions through indirect routes, he said, since in most countries governments act as employers and require costly bank guarantees.
For example, he said, a Turkish firm pays about 0.5% to issue a guarantee, while an Iranian company faces costs of 3% to 4%.
“Iranian engineers are technically competent and have successfully completed overseas infrastructure projects without reports of failure or abandonment,” he said.
Chamber ready to establish int’l framework for exports
Nabavi stressed that engineering services require strong diplomacy, as projects are long-term and vulnerable to political or international disputes. He added that the sector needs a dedicated private-sector body, arguing the Trade Promotion Organization is too overstretched. The chamber, he said, is ready to establish and oversee an international framework for such exports.
Engineering services, he noted, can generate more foreign currency revenue than oil exports. “If 10 Iranian companies at standard level manage to export services and each implements just two projects abroad, the foreign exchange revenue will exceed the country’s total oil exports,” he said.
The chamber member voiced hope that expanding banking channels and easing sanctions could help Iran tap into markets in Eurasia and the BRICS group for engineering service exports.
Iran has no formal role in FATF regional groups and was placed on the watchdog’s blacklist after failing to complete its corrective plan. That led FATF to call on all countries to impose restrictions on Iran and its nationals until shortcomings were resolved.