TPO to form task forces for top partners to boost trade diplomacy
Head of the Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) announced on Monday that the agency plans to establish dedicated task forces for the country’s top 20 trading partners to develop roadmaps aimed at expanding exports and strengthening trade diplomacy.
Speaking at the 6th session of the “Seven Days with Export” forums, Mohammad Ali Dehqan Dehnavi emphasized that every trade delegation abroad must be backed by “precise planning” and clear objectives, Mehr reported. He said the working groups will coordinate with joint chambers of commerce and commercial attachés to draw up detailed trade strategies.
“Successful countries view commercial diplomacy as a key instrument of economic development, with their heads of state personally involved in major trade negotiations,” he said, adding that Iran is currently in talks with five to six countries to sign preferential and free trade agreements.
“A significant portion of Iran’s political relations now revolves around trade,” the deputy minister of Industry, Mine and Trade noted.
Dehnavi also highlighted President Masoud Pezeshkian’s strong emphasis on using foreign visits to expand trade and exports, stressing that the Foreign Ministry is actively pursuing this policy. “Chambers of commerce can play an effective role in realizing this goal, and closer cooperation between them will help boost non-oil exports,” he said.
The deputy minister further noted that private-sector representatives have played a visible role in advancing Iran’s trade diplomacy, adding that business forums held during the president’s visits have led to new cooperation agreements.
“Expectations of the private sector from the Foreign Ministry, the Industry Ministry, and the Trade Promotion Organization must be clearly defined to make Iran’s economic cooperation with target countries more effective,” Dehnavi said.
He also underlined that Iranian ambassadors will be evaluated based on the progress of the country’s exports, saying, “Export performance is one of the main criteria for assessing their misison.”
Trade centers lagging behind
Addressing the status of Iran’s overseas trade centers, Dehnavi said many of them have yet to mature and nearly half have not been renewed, calling on the private sector to propose plans to enhance their performance.
Earlier this month, Amir Roshanbakhsh Qanbari, deputy for the Promotion of International Businesses at the TPO, said Iran once had about 57 trade centers abroad, but the number has now fallen to 27, adding that the country currently has 19 commercial attachés, with plans to raise the number to around 25.
Trade centers serve as support hubs to promote their respected country’s export capabilities, identify target markets, connect business communities, and facilitate the export of goods and services.
Commercial attachés also act as official trade representatives, gathering market intelligence, following up on economic agreements, and directly assisting exporters.
Such initiatives form a vital bridge linking a country’s public and private sectors with global markets.