TPO highlights Iran’s extensive capacities for D-8 trade development
The head of the Africa office of Iran's Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) stressed on Monday the importance of Iran's presence at the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, saying the Islamic Republic, as one of the founding members of D-8, enjoys extensive capacities for active participation in the development of intra-group trade.
Addressing a meeting of D-8 senior trade officials in Cairo, Mohammad Reza Safari underlined that Iran's excellent geopolitical position as a crossroads connecting East and West, and North and South, provides a unique opportunity for expanding trade corridors, multimodal transport, and facilitating transit of goods among D-8 members.
“Iran's reliable port, rail, and road infrastructures, especially the southern ports in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, can be an effective link in the regional and global supply chain,” he added.
The TPO official stressed that Iran’s industrial and technological capabilities in such fields as petrochemicals, steel, energy, nanotechnology, pharmaceutical industries, and medical equipment can create valuable opportunities for industrial cooperation and joint production.
Safari said Iran's extensive market and skilled workforce can also provide opportunities for joint investment and the creation of regional industrial clusters for D-8 members.
The official also underscored the necessity of defining initiatives and joint projects for moving D-8 group collaborations from agreements to implementation.
Proposing several key axes, Safari said, “First, establish a D-8 preferential trade network and complete technical processes to reduce tariffs and facilitate trade documents, especially for goods with a competitive advantage in each country, launch joint transportation corridors, and integrate transit regulations, especially connecting member ports through regular maritime lines and developing rail transport among the group's countries.”
He added in the second proposed axis that a financial settlement system among members should be launched using local currencies or multilateral barter mechanisms to reduce transaction costs and increase resilience against international fluctuations.
“Now, more than ever, cooperation among D-8 member countries can become a driving force for shaping regional value chains and increasing our countries' share of global trade,” Safari concluded.
“We believe that by relying on shared political will, diverse economic capacities, and rich human capital, this group can become a successful model of South-South cooperation in today's world.”