Iranian official: To improve bilateral trade turnover Armenian business should conduct marketing research of Iranian market

ArmInfo. Indicators of trade  turnover between Armenia and Iran are still unsatisfactory. Mohamad  Reza Abdul Rahimi, Head of the Main Department for Investment and  Budget Planning of the High Council of Free Economic Zones of the  Islamic Republic of Iran stated in a conversation with journalists on  February 27 at the margins of the 15th session of the  Armenian-Iranian intergovernmental commission in Yerevan.

According to him, at the moment no Armenian company has been  registered in the economic zones of Iran.  Mohamad Reza Abdul Rahimi  hopes that, following the signing of the planned Memoranda of  Interaction, the process is intensified.

Meanwhile, he noted, there are numerous free trade zones in Iran that  welcome investors from neighboring countries, especially the Aras FEZ  of strategic importance. Entrepreneurs in these FEZ are in no way  limited in their activities - they, among other things, are granted  the right to reside and the right to own land and office plots on the  territory of the FEZ. Simultaneously, the company operating on the  territory of the FEZ, for 20 years, is exempt from taxes, including  the payment of income tax. Otherwise, things are in Armenia, where,  as Muhammad Reza Abdul Rahimi noted, companies registered in local  FEZ can only lease the territory. Abdul Rahimi expressed  dissatisfaction with the trade turnover between Iran and Armenia: the  import of Armenian goods to Iran is only $ 75 million, the export of  Iranian goods to Armenia is $ 165 million, while the total export of  Armenia is $ 3.2 billion, and the import of foreign goods in the  Islamic Republic of Iran - $ 43 billion. "Thus, the Armenian exports  to the Iranian Republic are negligible, and to improve the statistics  it is necessary to establish new business contacts and conduct a  relevant market research on the Iranian market," said Muhammad Reza  Abdul Rahimi.

According to the National Statistical Service of Armenia, in  January-December of 2017 the trade turnover between Armenia and Iran  reached $ 263.4 million, with an annual growth of 10.1%. In the  structure of foreign trade turnover, exports amounted to $ 84.1  million with an increase of 11.8%, and imports increased by 9.3%,  reaching $ 179.3 million.