TEHRAN- The new Iranian ambassador to South Korea, before departing for his post, visited the Tehran Chamber of Commerce and held talks with the Secretary-General of the Tehran Chamber to exchange views on the capacities for cooperation with this East Asian country and the development of commercial, technological, and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

In this meeting, the necessity of mutual recognition of capabilities and increasing awareness of the potentials of the two countries with the aim of strengthening trade relations was emphasized.

In the meeting between Ahmad Erfanian, the new Iranian ambassador to South Korea, and Fereydoun Vardinejad, the Secretary-General of the Tehran Chamber, which was held with the presence of the Deputy for International Affairs and Trade Development of the Chamber, as well as representatives from the Iran-South Korea Joint Chamber of Commerce, the regular holding of B2B meetings and specialized webinars, the exchange of economic and technological information, as well as trade delegations and communication with South Korean chambers of commerce were proposed as solutions to strengthen economic and trade interactions between Iran and Korea.

At the beginning of this meeting, Fereydoun Vardinejad, Secretary-General of the Tehran Chamber, referred to South Korea's growth experience over the past few decades and said: In recent years, we have also witnessed this country's influence in cultural, industrial, and political fields compared to other countries. It seems that maintaining cultural identity and brand development are among the issues that the policymakers of this country have emphasized, and they have been largely successful in this area.

The Secretary-General of the Tehran Chamber further spoke about the readiness of Iran's private sector to cooperate with Korean companies and stated: Traders and businessmen of the two countries can learn about each other's economic opportunities and capacities through the exchange of information and establish long-term commercial ties. In other words, the development of exchanges depends on recognizing capabilities and increasing awareness of the potentials existing in the economic sectors of the two countries.

According to the Public Relations Department of the Tehran Chamber, Vardinejad described the areas of cooperation with Korean traders as diverse and said: Through synergy and long-term planning with the economic section of the embassy, as well as a targeted approach to the development of trade between Iran and South Korea, cooperation with the economic enterprises of this country can be strengthened in fields such as automotive, home appliance industries, information technology, digital economy, medicine and medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, and more.

He further presented proposals aimed at facilitating trade relations between the two countries and said: Increasing the direct communication of the Tehran Chamber with the Iranian embassy in South Korea, regularly holding B2B meetings and specialized webinars, exchanging economic and technological information, interacting with trade delegations, and communicating with South Korean chambers of commerce can help increase knowledge of this country's capacities.

Necessity of utilizing capacity of Tehran Chamber in trade with East Asia

Subsequently, Ahmad Erfanian, the new Iranian ambassador to South Korea, while referring to his experiences in other countries, pointed out the importance of utilizing the capacities of chambers of commerce in improving trade relations and said: Chambers of commerce, as the parliament of the private sector, can help elevate the level of trade relations and improve economic interactions in various fields.

Erfanian continued in this meeting by referring to the history of economic relations between the two countries and added: Studies show that the worth of trade between Iran and South Korea reached more than $17 billion in 2011, and this country was Iran's fourth trading partner, however the figure has declined in recent years.

In this meeting, the Iranian ambassador to South Korea emphasized the continuation of communication between Iranian and Korean traders and businessmen despite political restrictions and said: Scenarios have been developed for the development of trade relations with South Korea under different conditions, and it is expected that by holding online meetings, including South Korea in trade delegation programs, connecting with economic think tanks, and utilizing the capacity of chambers of commerce, bilateral trade relations will improve.

He added: It is also possible to propose utilizing the capacity of Korean companies for the reconstruction of war damages.

Creating a database of trade laws and regulations with South Korea should be placed on agenda

In another part of this meeting, Hesameddin Hallaj, Deputy for International Affairs and Trade Development of the Tehran Chamber, during his speech, pointed out the necessity of cooperation with academic centers, knowledge transfer, and interaction of domestic small and medium-sized enterprises with South Korean economic enterprises.

Pooya Firoozi, Vice President of the Iran-Korea Joint Chamber of Commerce, also emphasized the importance of access to up-to-date information for traders and considered it necessary to create databases focused on laws, regulations, and investment opportunities in South Korea, and to identify reputable legal institutions in South Korea to provide consultation to Iranian traders.

He also announced the formulation of a development plan for Iran-South Korea cooperation centered on economic resilience.

MA