TEHRAN- Iran’s value of export to Syria hit $49 million during the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-May 21), which was 73 percent higher than the figure for the same period of time in the past year, a director in Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) announced.

Soheila Rasoulinejad, the director of the Syria Desk in TPO’s Office of Arabian Countries, also stated that Syria is ranked 14th in Iran's most important export markets.

Components and parts of steam turbines worth $30 million, equivalent to 60 percent of the exports, accounted for the largest share of exports to this country, followed by goods such as electrical conductors, iron or steel rods, and baby milk powder, the official further said.

She put Iran’s import from Syria and $2 million during the said period.

According to the chairman of Iran-Syria Joint Chamber of Commerce said that trade is rising between the two countries.

Last month, Keyvan Kashefi said that currently Syria is moving towards reconstruction, and items in the fields of construction, bridge and dam building, electricity supply, and technical and engineering services are at the top of Iran's list of exports to this country.

Syria's trade statistics show that trade with China and India has not changed in the past three years, but Iran's trade with Syria is on the rise, he added.

Saying that the two sides are still far from their targeted bilateral trade, the official said plans must be put in place to see an improvement in exports and imports with this country, and some important steps have been taken in this due over the past year.

In early March, the International Institute of Iran Industries Research (MPSIran) hosted a conference on Iran-Syria trade cooperation in Tehran.

The event was attended by senior officials from both sides including Deputy Director of Tehran Industry, Mining, and Trade Organization Houshang Rezaei Samarin, the Director-General of Ministry of Labor, Cooperatives and Social Welfare for Intl. Affairs Ali-Hossein Shahrivar, Syria’s Commercial Attaché in Tehran Ahmad Khamis, and Hamid Hosseini, board member of Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce.

The attendees of the meeting discussed a variety of issues in this event and explored ways for removing the barriers in the way of the expansion of two countries’ trade.

At the same time, Iran-Syria Joint Chamber of Commerce had also organized and held a conference on the business opportunities of the two countries at the place of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA).

The conference was attended by senior officials from the two sides including the head of Iran-Syria Joint Chamber of Commerce, and the head of the Federation of Syrian Chambers of Commerce Fahd Mahmoud Darwish, as well as TPO Head Hamid Zadboum.

MA/MA