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Iran (Daily Morning); Tuesday June 6, 1995;Page: 7
Summary:
The President of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Mines characterized Iran's commercial exchanges with the five African countries of Egypt, Morocco, Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria as "insignificant" and called for the promotion of these ties.
Text:
Addressing the "Seminar on Africa, Practical Means for Development and Co-operation with North Africa" (which convened May 8 and 9, 1995 in Tehran), the President of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Mines, Ali-Naqi Khamoushi, characterized as "insignificant" Iran's commercial relations with the five African countries of Egypt, Morocco, Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria.
In his speech to the seminar in which African ambassadors to Iran were also present, Khamoushi presented statistics on Iran's imports from these countries in the year 1993.
He enumerated the figures of Iran's imports as follows:
-Morocco (Maghreb) $69 million (0.12 percent of total imports)
-Egypt $2.6 million (0.002 percent)
-Tunisia $2.5 million (0.002 percent)
In regard to exports, he said that insignificant amounts of goods were exported to four of the said countries, as follows:
-Tunisia $5 million (0.14 percent of the country's total exports)
-Libya $800,000 (0.022 percent)
-Morocco (Maghreb) $114,000 (0.003 percent)
Items exported to Tunisia were listed by Khamoushi in the order of their importance as flowers, brimstone, pistachios, raisins, small and large hand-woven carpets, saffron, and twelve oil heaters.
Commodities exported to Libya were more diverse, but the total exports to this country were very slight. Among items exported to Libya, reference can be made to spare parts worth $527,000, small and large hand-woven carpets, gum tragacanth, herbal gums, herbal medicines, sinks, bathtubs, and raisins.
Exports to Egypt were mainly comprised of pistachios, polyester fibers, caraway seeds, raisins, and hand-woven carpets.
Caraway seeds, raisins, a small amount of pistachios, small and large hand-woven carpets, and household appliances were exported to Morocco (Maghreb).
While Iran imported only phosphoric acid from Tunisia, it imported eight types of goods from Egypt, the most important of which was spun thread. Iran imported six types of goods from Morocco (Maghreb).
On the whole, Iran's imports from these countries amounted to $69 million, including chemical fertilizers, phosphoric acid, bags and large woolen sacks for packaging.
Khamoushi set forth a series of points and proposals to enhance Iran's commercial ties with these African states.
First, he said, Iran's knowledge about these countries is very slight, and facts and figures in themselves are not sufficient for trade deals.
Second, because these countries serve as the gateway to the African continent, he added that it is essential as the first step to establish friendly ties with them and to win the confidence of the governments and peoples of these states.
Third, Iran should consolidate its relations with these countries and, if possible, renew political ties by maintaining the principles with those of them which Tehran does not have such ties, he said.
Khamoushi added that fortunately some of Iran's problems with Egypt have been solved, and Egypt is now among Iran's economic partners.
Fourth, through negotiations with these countries, joint shipping lines should be established to cover the route of the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Indian Ocean.
Fifth, regular flights should be established between Iran and the North African states, and he added that such flights would be highly advantageous, since they would enable many tourists from these five African countries to visit Iran's historical sites.
It is possible and even advisable to set up these flights by establishing multinational airline firms, he stressed.
Sixth, Khamoushi remarked that participating in the fairs, holding specialized exhibitions, and establishing permanent shops in these countries are highly beneficial.
Seventh, he suggested that in order to delve into particular questions related to each of these 5 countries, it is necessary to hold meetings to deal separately with the issues and problems related to each and every one of them.
