A major Iranian businessman said exports of goods and services to Iraq were down year-on-year in February at $11 billion.

Yahya Al Es’haq, who leads the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce, added exports to Iraq had been affected by the spread of the new coronavirus in Iran, noting, however, that trade between the two countries will grow despite current problems, Press TV reported.

He said total exports to Iraq, which include energy and services, had reached a record high of $13 billion in March 2019.

He said Iran aims to meet a target of $20 billion in exports to Iraq in a matter of few years, adding that Iranian businesses are expected to sell between $13 billion to $14 billion worth of products and services to Iraq in the current Iranian calendar year ending in March 2021.

The businessman admitted that political instability in Iraq was another reason for a slight decline in imports of Iranian products and services over the past year.

“We see these restrictions as temporary because all issues will be resolved,” said Al Es’haq, adding that the Iraqi market is of vital importance to Iran’s foreign trade.

Iran has sought to offset the impacts of the American sanctions on its sale of oil through a series of measures to boost foreign trade, especially with neighboring countries.

Iraq is second to China on Iran’s list of top destinations for exports. The Arab country’s main import items from Iran include food, natural gas, electricity and construction materials.

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Director of Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC)’s Projects says with several new projects going operational, the country’s petrochemical production capacity is going to increase significantly in the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 20).

“In the year of “Surge in Production”, the petrochemical industry is trying to benefit from the most of the domestic capabilities and with new petrochemical projects being inaugurated, the production capacity in this industry will increase significantly,” IRNA quoted Ali-Mohammad Bosaqzadeh as saying.

He said the petrochemical industry is now the center and pillar of the country’s economic development and is in close collaboration with all industrial sectors, adding that injecting resources into the productive sectors and prohibiting the waste of national resources can lead to the second and third leaps in the petrochemical industry.

Noting that the balanced development of the petrochemical industry is of particular interest among NPC strategies for the current year, he said: “In this regard, the development of downstream petrochemical industries is going to prevent the sale of raw materials and will result in the production of products with higher added value.”

He further noted that most of the underway projects in this industry are currently using domestic equipment, licenses and technological knowledge of Iranian experts.

Considering the undeniable significance of the petrochemical industry in Iran’s resilient economy in the sanctions era, the Iranian Oil Ministry and the country’s National Petrochemical Company have been taking major steps to facilitate further development of this industry in recent years.

Back in September 2019, Bosaqzadeh noted that Iran‘s annual petrochemical output, which is currently at nearly 70 million tons, is planned to reach more than 100 million tons by the Iranian calendar year of 1400 (ends on March 2022) and to 130 million tons or nearly doubled) by 1404 (ends on March 2026).

Also in August 2019, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh had announced that the country’s annual petrochemical output is expected to reach more than 100 million tons by 2021, despite U.S. sanctions.

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A subsidiary company of Iran’s Barkat Ventures is manufacturing oxygen ‎concentrators and ventilators in an effort to help those who are infected ‎with the coronavirus in the country, said its CEO. ‎

Iran’s Barkat Ventures is a knowledge-based institute affiliated with the ‎headquarters for the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO). ‎Established as EIKO’s executive arm in the development of the country’s ‎knowledge-based economy, Barkat Ventures’ mission is the creation and ‎expansion of the ecosystem and infrastructure required for the ‎development of knowledge and knowledge-based activities in the country, ‎according to barkatventures.com.‎

To these ends, it has placed on its agenda making the maximum use of the ‎capabilities of domestic scientists and experts and expanding cooperation ‎with the country’s institutes and organizations involved in the fields of ‎science, technology and the knowledge-based economy. ‎

Commenting on his company’s activities in an exclusive interview with ‎Iran Daily, Peyman Bakhshandeh-Nejad added, “In cooperation with a ‎number of researchers of a new technology-based firm, we started our ‎activities at Sharif [University’s] Advanced Technologies Incubator in 2014. ‎Two years later, the company produced its first oxygen concentrator as ‎part of a project funded by Barkat Ventures.”‎

He said in the beginning, the company was highly dependent on imports ‎for manufacturing the device, purchasing almost 80 percent of the spare ‎parts from other countries, noting that, however, in 2018 EIKO supported ‎the company, enabling it to produce oxygen concentrators without having ‎to rely on imports.‎

Since late 2019, Bakhshandeh-Nejad added, domestic production of all ‎spare parts required for manufacturing the device has begun. ‎

He said, previously, the company’s production line manufactured five ‎oxygen concentrators per day, noting that following the coronavirus ‎outbreak in Iran, the number of the produced devices has increased to 30 ‎per day. ‎

In the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak, EIKO placed on its agenda ‎increased investments in the domestic production of ventilators and other ‎medical equipment required for combatting the virus. This was done in ‎view of the rise in domestic demand for such products and due to the ‎unjust US sanctions on the Iran impeding imports of such ‎devices. ‎

In May 2018, President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Joint ‎‎Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), ‎signed between Iran and the P5+1 ‎in July ‎‎2015, and reimposed Washington’s unilateral sanctions on ‎Tehran. ‎The sanctions ‎have hindered, among other things, the delivery of ‎international ‎humanitarian ‎aid, medicine and medical equipment to Iran, ‎particularly, now that the ‎country is fighting against the ‎coronavirus. ‎

Bakhshandeh-Nejad added the price of his company’s oxygen concentrators ‎are far lower than their foreign counterparts, saying his firm has also made ‎significant progress in terms of providing after-sales service since it cut ‎dependence on imports. ‎

In addition to his company, he said, two other domestic firms are also ‎manufacturing the device, noting that one of them has launched a Chinese ‎assembly line for production of oxygen concentrators.‎

The company’s CEO put domestic demand for oxygen concentrators at ‎‎2,000 per month, stressing that the current level of production meets the ‎country’s demand for the device.‎

Bakhshandeh-Nejad said that since 2018, his company has begun ‎manufacturing a type of ventilator known as BiPAP – standing for bi-level ‎positive airway pressure. ‎

‎“The machine was selected in 2018 as the most unique medical equipment ‎produced in Iran.”‎

He said earlier that his company manufactured only up to three ventilators ‎per day, adding that since the coronavirus outbreak, its daily production ‎stands at 10 machines. ‎

‎“We have delivered 250 previously-produced ventilators to the Health ‎Ministry since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in the country.” ‎

Bakhshandeh-Nejad added his company has recently finished making a ‎ventilator exclusive to coronavirus patients known as average volume-‎assured pressure support (AVAPS). ‎

He noted that mass production of the newly-built machine will begin in a ‎few days, saying the company is expected to manufacture 20 AVAPS ‎ventilators per day. ‎

‎“The Health Ministry has announced that it currently needs 1,500 AVAPS ‎ventilators.”‎

The coronavirus, which causes a respiratory illness, emerged in the central ‎‎Chinese city of Wuhan in ‎Hubei Province late last year and is currently ‎affecting a ‎large number of countries and territories across ‎the globe. It has ‎infected and killed ‎people in a large number of countries. ‎

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Three major Iranian carmakers, namely Iran Khodro Company (IKCO), SAIPA Group and Pars Khodro, manufactured 863,263 vehicles during the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19), IRNA reported citing the data released by Codal website.

According to the data, during the previous year, IKCO manufactured 393,812 vehicles, of which 35,953 were produced in the last Iranian calendar month of Esfand (February 20-March 19).

Production by SAIPA stood at 363,379, of which 23,696 vehicles were manufactured during the last month.

Pars Khodro manufactured 106,072 cars during the past year. Production in Esfand reached 9,300 vehicles.

Iran has been following a program for supporting domestic manufacturing of auto parts since due to the U.S. sanctions the country’s automakers have been facing some problems in supplying their needed parts and equipment.

Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Reza Rahmani has said that the policy of domestic manufacturing of auto parts should be seriously followed up and in this due capable manufacturers should be supported.

In January, Iranian Auto Parts Makers Association’s Secretary Maziar Beyglou announced that Iran has achieved 80 percent self-sufficiency in the manufacturing of auto parts.

The official expressed hope that self-reliance in this sector reaches 90 percent through domestic production of required raw materials.

Domestic parts manufacturers are able to play a key role in creating a boom in the country’s manufacturing and employment sectors, in addition to playing their leading role as the auto industry’s intermediates, Beyglou said.

Mentioning the industry ministry’s strategies for promoting domestic production, the official said: “Following the current policies, we will see the production of a number of new vehicles from domestic automakers in the coming years.”

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Iran’s Vice President for Economic Affairs Mohammad Nahavandian said many EU states back Iran‘s $5b loan bid from the International Monetary Fund, adding that more serious efforts have been made for releasing country’s foreign exchange reserves in other countries.

Speaking in a live TV program, Nahavandian elaborated on the government’s relief package to help the poor families, small businesses and the private sector suffering from the economic consequences of coronavirus.

He referred to tourism and transportation as two sectors which have been damaged seriously after the outbreak of coronavirus, saying the businesses in tourism sector can see boom in summer.

He noted that the Government has requested one billion euro from National Development Fund of Iran to spend in the context of the relief package.

Stressing the significant position of Iran in IMF and Iranian membership in IMF’s board of directors, Nahavandian said that Iran has written official letter to IMF and it would be Iran’s legal right to enjoy the IMF emergency facility to deal with humanitarian tragedy in Iran.

IMF has earmarked special credit to help thwart the threat posed to international community by coronavirus pandemic and major states back Iranian $5 billion loan bid from IMF emergency facility, but, the US has violated the most primary moral and humanitarian principles, he said.

Some members of the IMF board of directors have taken positive stance toward Iran and some European States have supported Iran, he said, adding that Iran has considerable reserves in various countries but they have not yet been available due to the US sanctions.

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President Hassan Rouhani said Wed. that the number of coronavirus cases in Iran is dropping, adding that his government has earmarked $10bn for businesses that have sustained loss due to the pandemic.

The Iranian president made the remarks at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Here are some excerpts from his address at the meeting:

The government and the National Task Force for Fighting Coronavirus have made very good decisions since the beginning, the first meeting I chaired these days dates back to February 25, when we held the first National Task Force for Fighting Coronavirus meeting and decided on the Social Distancing program on that meeting.

Many tourist and entertainment centers were closed. Schools and universities were closed and the authorities’ invitation was well received. Today we saw the Minister of Roads and Urban Development announce that people’s travel by train decreased by 94 percent, buses by 75 percent, and airplane by 70 percent, and overall travel declined substantially in the first days of Nowruz.

We had an 80-percent reduction in Nowruz travel

On average, we had an 80-percent reduction in Nowruz travel in the first days of spring. In most provinces, passing the peak of the disease is also related to the first days of spring.

Although it was a very difficult task for all of us, these decisions were made for the health and well-being of the people, and when we saw that we had to be stricter, we made a decision on March 25 to assign the social-security committee to review the matter.

The same day we made the necessary decisions and announced to the public, we started the second phase of the Social Distancing program, which was stricter on the people but at the same time the people cooperated and we had a 30% reduction in travel.

Different countries have adopted different approaches to this issue. Of course, we used the experience of all countries, but we never limited ourselves to their approach. From the very early days that the virus began, some have been proposing to implement the Chinese model of quarantine.

I need to explain to people what Chinese quarantine means. The Chinese quarantine meant that all shops were shut down and all cars stopped moving and all doors closed, and no one had the right to leave the house and 24 hours of food was thrown into the house. This was a Chinese quarantine model in Wuhan. No one in the world liked this model and no one implemented it.

What our experts were looking for from the outset was a program designed for Iran and the Ministry of Health responsible for it, we implemented different programs step by step at different stages.

We took the pessimistic approaches from the first days

With the help of doctors, nurses, medical staff who had been working since day one and made sacrifices, and saved our people, we took the pessimistic approaches from the first days and mobilized all facilities of the Armed Forces and called on them to bring 4,000 hospital beds. In total, we have 6,800 ICU beds, 4,000 of which are currently occupied, and the rest are empty.

These days, our production sector has done a great job of meeting the needs of both the hospital and the people. At this very cabinet meeting, the minister announced that the production of disinfectants has doubled in the past few days, with the private sector also adding to it.

Despite sanctions, hardships, and problems, we set aside about $10 billion to remove barriers to businesses that were in trouble. Part of that will be in loans, part in grants and part in packages paid to families and people in need.

The last thing I want to emphasize is the Americans’ malignancy. They imposed sanctions on us in these conditions for whatever reason. Their sanctions were wrong, cruel, incorrect and illegal. But still in this particular situation, which themselves know that coronavirus is not specific to one country and the world is almost interconnected, if 10 countries fight against coronavirus but one doesn’t, it will be spread twice as much and to twice as many countries. It is a global business.

It was the best historic opportunity for Americans to return from their wrong path and once again tell their nation that they are not against the Iranian people. They have always acted against the Iranian nation, but today their animosity towards the Iranian nation is more obvious.

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The Chairman of the Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce Yahya Al-e Es’haq said that Iran enjoys a high capacity to export $31 billion worth of products to the neighboring countries of Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

He said on Tuesday that export-oriented perspectives should be taken into consideration for promoting exports while boosting the quality of products is a prerequisite for spurring exports in the country, reported Mehr News Agency.

Iran’s 15 neighboring countries are home to about 500 million people, he said, adding, “These countries provide between $200 and $250 billion worth of export capacity for Iran.”

If barriers of trade and business activities were removed, Iran would be able to export $50 million worth of products to these countries, Al-e Es’haq noted.

He put the volume of products exported from Iran to neighboring Iraq over the past year at $13 billion, while about $9 billion worth of products were exported to Iraq in the first nine months of the current year (March 21 to Dec. 22, 2019).

Iran enjoys a high potential to export up to $20 billion, $6 billion and $5 billion worth of products to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, respectively, he stressed.

The head of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Customs Administration (IRICA) said in January that despite the United States’ unilateral sanctions against the Iranian economy, the value of Iran’s foreign trade exceeded $72 billion during the first 10 months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2019-January 20, 2020).

In an address to reporters on Sunday, Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi added that of this figure, $35.5 billion pertained to Iran’s exports and $36 billion to the country’s imports.

He noted that the value of Iran’s overseas sales in this period indicated a three-percent decline compared to the same period last year, saying the figure does not include the country’s exports of electricity and techno-engineering services.

The weight of the country’s exports in this time span, however, indicated a 20-percent growth year-on-year, IRICA head added.

In addition, Mir-Ashrafi said, Iran’s imports in the 10-month period to January 20 witnessed an eight-percent rise weight-wise, compared to the country’s purchases in the same time period last year, adding they did not indicate any year-on-year change in terms of value.

He said of Iran’s total imports in this period, 19 million tons pertained to the purchase of basic goods.

“In addition, fetching $15.8 billion in revenue, the export of petrochemicals from Iran accounted for 44 percent of the country’s total exports in this period.”

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Iranian tourism official Mohammad-Ebrahim Larijani said on Monday that Iran has given a priority to attract the Chinese tourists.

Mohammad-Ebrahim Larijani, the director of advertising and marketing office of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, said, ‘One of the duties of the marketing and advertising office is tourism awareness by organizing tours to introduce Iran’s tourism capabilities and the tourist sites of the other countries.’
Iran has the largest resource bases for cultural, natural and historical sites in the world and is among the leading countries in terms of its potential for attracting foreign tourists.

He said that in order to achieve the goal, we host eight Chinese tour operators and tourism industry activists and such a procedure will continue until the end of the Iranian year.

Larijani said that Chinese tourism industry activists got acquainted with the capacities of the provinces of Tehran, Isfahan, Yazd, Fars, and East Azarbaijan, and that China is one of the first priorities of the target markets of Iran tourism industry, and their acquaintance with Iran Tourism Potentials, has a great influence on cooperation in the field of tourism.

‘Last year 11 groups of tourists, including 194 tour operators, tourism webloggers, reporter, radio broadcaster, the influential people from different target countries, visited various provinces in the country and became acquainted with the capacities of Iran’s Tourism,’ he said.

‘In the current Iranian year, we are pursuing this action with greater strength; hence, we have hosted a group of people for 11 days in May,’ he said.

The interest of the world Muslims to travel to Iran as pilgrims and pay a visit to the holy shrines and also enjoy its natural sight-seeings and tourist attractions have been the major potential of the tourism industry.

Iranian people are famous for their hospitality and all those who visit Iran appreciate the culture of hospitality Iranians show when they come across the tourists.

About 7.8 million tourists traveled to Iran in the past Iranian year, ended on March 20, 2019, registering 52.5 percent growth compared to the preceding year which was 5.1 million tourists.

”In the past Iranian year sanctions on the tourism sector were also affected by the cancellation or reduction of foreign direct flights, but fortunately the regional markets and China were placed on our agenda to attract foreign tourists and neutralized the effects,” said Ali Asghar Mounesan, the head of Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization.

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A rice shipment from India has arrived at Iran’s Chabahar Port and soon will be dispatched to landlocked Afghanistan’s market, a senior Afghan official said.

“Around 500 tons of rice which were bought from India have arrived in Chabahar this week. Exports have also started through Chabahar,” Khan Jan Alokozay, the deputy head of Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries said on Friday.

Noting that this is the first Indian cargo sent to Afghanistan through Chabahar, the official said in line with the plans to boost regional connectivity, Afghanistan is ready to send its second shipment to India via Chabahar.

The country sent its first cargo, containing 570 tons of commodities, via the Iranian strategic port in late February, under the TIR (Transports Internationaux Routiers) Convention that enables shipments to pass through countries without being opened at borders.

According to Alokozay, despite the US’ sanctions against Iran, Afghan and Indian traders have not become reluctant in trading through the port.

Meanwhile, a number of economic analysts said Chabahar port can play a significant role in the expansion of trade between Afghanistan, Iran and India.

The experts said the involved governments should resolve the technical problems exist in the port.

“It is a big transit route and we also want to expand our trade ties with Iran. It is a big income source that connects Afghanistan with Iran and South Asia,” said Esmatullah Ishaqzai, an economic expert.

Chabahar Port, lying along the Sea of Oman, is considered as a gateway to golden opportunities for trade, especially by India, Iran and Afghanistan with Central Asian countries.

In May 2016, India, Iran, and Afghanistan signed an agreement on the establishment of a Transit and Transport Corridor among the three countries using Chabahar port as the regional hub for sea transportation.

Afghanistan is planning to boost is exports revenue to $2 billion this year and according to Afghan officials, a significant share of the country’s exports will be through Iran’s Chabahar Port.

In 2016, Iran, India and Afghanistan decided to jointly establish a trade route for land-locked Central Asian countries.

India has committed $500 million to Chabahar Port development as a way to bypass rival Pakistan and crack open a trade and transport route to landlocked Afghanistan, as well as the resource-rich countries of central Asia.

The country is expanding its economic diplomacy in Afghanistan, seeing itself as a regional power so it has framed its involvement in Chabahar’s development as primarily about establishing a gateway to Afghanistan, more than Iran itself, Indian officials and a Western diplomatic source said.

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Iran’s Persian Gulf Star Refinery in the southern province of Hormozgan is the first of its kind designed based on gas condensate feed-stock recovered from South Pars gas field which Iran shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf.

Construction of the refinery started in 2006, but the project was delayed as the result of some  financial limitation due to the sanctions against Iran.

Planned to have a total crude oil processing capacity of 360,000 barrels per day, Persian Gulf Star is projected to be complete by the end of the next Iranian calendar year 1397 (March 20, 2019).

The facility is owned by Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Investment Company (49%), Oil Industry Pension Fund (33.1%) and National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) (17.9%).

The project is estimated to be completed at a cost of approximately $3.4bn.

Once fully operational, the refinery will add over 36 million liters of Euro-4 and Euro-5 quality gasoline to the country’s gasoline production capacity to increase it to 100 million liters per day.

When the first phase of Persian Gulf Star Refinery was inaugurated by President Hassan Rouhani on April 30, 2017, Iran said it is now self-sufficient in gasoline production.

“By inaugurating the first phase of this refinery an old dream came true. We are self-sufficient in gasoline production and in near future we will be able to export,” Rouhani said in the inaugural ceremony of the first phase.

Second phase of the refinery is scheduled to be complete by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2018) adding 12 million liters of Euro 5 gasoline to Iran’s capacity of the product, Alireza Sadeq-Abadi, the managing director of National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC), announced in the inaugural ceremony of the distillation unit of the second phase on February 14.

In mid-December last year, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said Iran will reach a stable status in gasoline production once the second phase of Persian Gulf Star Refinery comes on stream.

Bringing self-sufficiency for the country in terms of gasoline production, once fully operational, the Middle East’s largest processing facility for gas condensate will also play a big role to turn Iran into an exporter of gasoline.

The big job has already started as the first shipment of Euro 5 gasoline produced by Persian Gulf Star Refinery was delivered to Shahid Rajaee port in south of the country in early December last year.

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