TEHRAN -- The fifth edition of the Export Potential Exhibition of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran Expo 2023) opened here on Sunday in a ceremony attended by President Ebrahim Raisi.
More than 750 Iranian companies are participating in the exhibition which is being held at the Tehran International Fairground until May 10.
Head of Iran Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Alireza Peyman-Pak said representatives from 65 countries are visiting the exhibition.
According to Peyman-Pak, traders, heads of chambers of commerce, ministers, deputy ministers and officials from Germany, Belgium and Serbia, Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Uzbekistan, China, and India are participating in the exhibition.
“It is estimated that after this three-day event, we will sign up to $2 billion of agreements and trade deals and boost our economic relations with various countries in the region and the world,” Peyman-Pak said.
Companies participating in the exhibition span a wide range of fields, including food industries, agriculture, livestock, poultry and fisheries, automobiles, electricity, carpets, household appliances, textiles, leather and clothing, chemical and petrochemicals, cellulose and sanitary products, handicrafts and tourism, medicine, medical and laboratory equipment, mining, construction industry, and technical and engineering services, as well as petrochemical and knowledge-based enterprises.
According to the TPO head, delegations attending the exhibition will visit Iran’s northern and southern ports to explore potential areas for mutual cooperation.
President Ebrahim Raisi addressed the opening, saying his administration’s foreign policy is focused on strengthening ties with neighbors and allies, and developing economic diplomacy.
“Iran is generally recognized as a country rich with oil and gas. Heavy emphasis on these two sectors has overshadowed other capabilities of the country. The first step in this regard is to introduce the Islamic Republic’s export capabilities and get familiar with those of other countries,” he said.
His administration, the president said, intends to upgrade the level of its commercial and economic interactions with most of the countries it has relations with.
Raisi said his administration has managed to export more than $50
billion worth of commodities ever since it took office in early August 2021, smashing a 40-year record.
The figure demonstrates that the government is fairly determined to support production, the president said.
The president touched on Iran’s growth in different spheres, including exports, saying such achievements were made despite U.S. pressures and Western sanctions.
Raisi said Iranian scientists and industrialists have achieved anything banned under the sanctions. He said economic operators have also circumvented and offset the sanctions regime.
The president called on executive agencies and businessmen not to stop at this stage, complete the added-value chain in the mining industries and prevent the sale of raw materials, and boost employment, production as well as exports.
Raisi also underlined the importance of both quantity and quality throughout production and export processes, noting that quality must not be sacrificed for the sake of quantity.
The president also touched on talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, saying that his administration will not tie the country’s progress to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and termination of anti-Iran sanctions.
He said it was the United States that left the negotiating table, and it was the European parties that did not fulfill their commitments and reneged on their obligations under the deal.
The president said the Iran Expo 2023 exhibition serves as a proper ground for the development of economic and commercial ties between Iran and other countries.