TEHRAN- An economic expert, referring to Iran's plan to develop alternative trade corridors under the supervision of the Ministry of Economy, said: In the West Asia region, there are eight important rail corridors, six of which pass through Iranian territory. This capacity can turn Iran into an economic, commercial, and transit hub in the region and transform the country into a bottleneck for economic exchanges between the East and the West of the world.

According to IRNA, the geopolitical developments of recent years, from the Russia-Ukraine war to the rerouting of global trade, have increased the importance of transit corridors more than ever. Meanwhile, due to its location at the crossroads of East and West and simultaneous access to Asian, European, and regional markets, Iran has a unique capacity to become a transit and trade hub.

Based on this, some experts believe that developing transport infrastructure, attracting foreign investment, and activating economic diplomacy can increase Iran's share of regional and global trade and create new sources of income for the country's economy – a capacity that has so far been utilized far less than its true potential.

Hasan Hasankhani, an economic expert, stated in an interview with IRNA about the president's emphasis on developing transit corridors: If Iran's geopolitical position is not the most privileged in the world, it is undoubtedly one of the most privileged geopolitical positions in the world. Iran is a country that directly borders 15 countries and is connected to about 25 other countries through one intermediary.

He added: Iran is considered a neighbor to countries like China and India through one intermediary, and also directly shares a border with Pakistan. This position can provide the basis for economic linkage with the world's most important population hubs. However, for various reasons including some political considerations, our country has not been able to fully exploit this capacity in past years.

The economic expert continued: The late Leader of the Revolution pointed out well in his Nowruz speech in 2018 that if Iran can meet only 20% of the import needs of its neighboring countries, there will be the capacity to achieve about 250 billion dollars in annual exports. This shows the vast opportunities surrounding Iran's economy. For example, at that time, Russia had about 60 billion dollars of annual medicine imports, but Iran's share of this market was only about 250,000 dollars – a very tiny figure compared to existing capacities.

He emphasized: Iran must use its geopolitical capacities more than before. The North-South corridor and the East-West corridor are only part of these capacities; in West Asia, there are eight important rail corridors, six of which pass through Iranian soil. This capacity can turn Iran into an economic, commercial, and transit hub in the region and transform the country into a bottleneck for economic exchanges between the East and West.

* Ukraine war did not reduce trade between China and Europe

The economic expert, referring to global trade developments after the Ukraine war, stated: One of the areas that did not decline after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war was the volume of trade between China and Europe. The European Union, with a population of about 500 million people, and China, with a population of over 1.6 billion, still have extensive trade relations.

He added: The value of trade between China and Europe in 2021, before the start of the Ukraine war, was about 780 billion dollars, and this figure increased to about 820 billion dollars in the year after the war. This is despite the fact that some traditional transport routes, including the rail route from Russia to Poland, faced serious restrictions. Iran can use part of this capacity and the rerouting of trade to its advantage.

In response to the question of to what extent the development of corridors can become a major source of income for the country, Hasanikhani explained: This is entirely possible, but it requires the provision of infrastructure and precise planning. The most important issue in this regard is financing infrastructure projects, which has also been addressed in Article 3 of the Seventh Development Plan, and its responsibility has been placed on the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance.

He added: Iran can conclude various contracts with countries like China, which are considered important trading partners, including investment contracts, BOT, and other partnership models. China invests about 700 billion dollars annually in various countries, and if only about five billion dollars of this investment is directed towards Iran, a significant part of the country's infrastructure problems will be resolved. From the perspective of economic and investment capacities, there is no serious limitation, and it is possible to attract financial resources for infrastructure development.

* Playing a role in corridors, resilience of Iran's economy

Asked whether Iran's economy has entered a new phase of resilience, Hasankhani replied: This depends on the extent to which officials pay attention to the country's transit and geopolitical capacities. If Iran can become the bottleneck of regional and global trade, the country's economic resilience will undoubtedly increase. Currently, one of the most important issues for developing Iran's position in regional corridors is making the country's embassies, especially in China, more active. Iran's ambassador to China must play a stronger role in developing economic cooperation.

The economic expert added: One of the existing challenges is that Iran's embassy in China has not been as active as its capacities warrant. In my opinion, this has been one of our weaknesses in past years, and economic interactions with China need to be pursued more seriously.

In response to the question of what are the most important obstacles to turning Iran's geographical advantage into an economic advantage, Hasanikhani said: This issue has been addressed in upstream documents including the Seventh Development Plan, and many countries have even developed a more positive view of Iran's transit capacities after the Ukraine war. The main issue in the current situation, more than a lack of planning, returns to the area of implementation and management. Economic and transit cooperation among Iran, China, Russia, and India requires faster decision-making and implementation, but in some cases, administrative processes and bureaucracy have caused delays.

The economic expert concluded: The role of Iran's embassies in target countries is very important in removing these obstacles. Iran's embassy in Russia has performed acceptably, but regarding China, there is still a need for more activity and movement. Overall, there is no serious external obstacle to the development of corridors, and what matters more than anything else is speeding up decisions and implementing existing plans.

EF/MA