Ahmadinejad in a meeting with Omani Commerce and Industry Minister Makboul ibn Ali ibn Sultan praised efforts to develop relations in all fields and said, “There is no hindrance to the expansion of bilateral ties and we should further bolster cooperation.”
He also urged all regional countries to boost relations amid the recent global economic crisis, adding, “Iran-Oman relations may be an example for other regional states.”
Ibn Sultan for his part called for the expansion of relations and joint investment projects, IRINN reported.
He predicted that the economy of the West – the U.S. and Europe – will further deteriorate. “In such a situation, the Persian Gulf regional nations should reinforce their ties.”
Tenfold rise in trade
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and ibn Sultan in a meeting earlier on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding to expand bilateral relations in the fields of trade, industries, energy, investment, and transportation.
In the 12th meeting of Iran-Oman Joint Economic Commission which wrapped up on Tuesday, the two sides vowed to give a tenfold rise to their current $200 million annual trade, raising it to some $2 billion in the next year.
Some high-ranking officials from Iran and Oman attended the three-day event co-chaired by Mottaki and ibn Sultan.
They discussed ways to boost cooperation in customs, telecommunications, transportation, and energy fields, the Mehr News Agency reported.
Mottaki referred to trade, marine transportation, industries, and energy as the four principal fields of cooperation and invited Omani investors to participate in Iranian projects.
“(Iran-Oman) relations are always based on mutual respect,” he said.
Pointing to the global financial crisis, he said since Tehran is shielded from the crisis, investors and businesspeople from the Middle East rushed to Iran, which has prepared the ground for Oman’s investments.
Ibn Sultan hailed the agreement on building a joint cement factory with the annual capacity of one million ton production.
He also urged to speed up launching a joint shipping line and expressed hope that the project would facilitate trade.
Iran and Oman on Monday reached an initial agreement to launch a joint shipping line in a bid to enhance their marine cooperation, IRNA reported.
Iranian Commerce Minister Seyyed Masoud Mir-Kazemi in a meeting on Monday said, “Launching the shipping line will facilitate the transit of goods and will raise the level of trade between the two nations.”
Mir-Kazemi also put the two countries’ transactions volume during the first 8 months of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 20, 2008) at some $170 million, while noting the figure was meager compared to Iran’s total $140 billion annual trade.
NS/MG/MRK
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MNA