According to the International Iranian Stone Exhibition, Behrouz Hassan Ulfat said about the economic opportunities of Armenia: "Our most important trade with Armenia is in the field of energy in the oil sector, oil and gas products, whether in the form of LNG or natural gas." . In addition to these areas, the issue of electricity imports has been discussed in the past years and will be developed in the future; Therefore, in the field of energy and projects related to this field, including the construction of power plants, transmission lines, petrochemical construction, if possible, and in general, industries related to the field of energy, there are suitable opportunities in the markets of the two countries; As if these opportunities have been used so far, but there are still unused capacities in this sector.

The Director General of the Europe and America Office of the Trade Development Organization of Iran added: "There are significant opportunities in the field of mining and quarrying; For example, Iran can define joint projects in some of the copper and precious stones mines in Armenia to activate Iranian companies in this sector, but this is a bilateral issue and Armenia can also define a mining project to be active in Iran's mines. Slowly

Al-Fatah said: "In the field of construction materials, tiles, ceramics, cement, gypsum and everything we know as construction materials, from steel and rebar to other materials in this field, the Armenian market both in terms of price and market quality." It is very suitable and especially has a lot of capacity for cement export. A wide range of industrial and mineral products in this sector has the potential to increase exports to the Armenian market.

He continued by stating that in the field of food industry and industries, there are many opportunities for the development of relations between the two countries: "Given that our advantage in the food industry and industries related to the agricultural industry, conversion industries, processing of agricultural products or conversion of agricultural products It is specific to food industries (confectionery, canned food, compote, etc.), this field can be used in addition to Armenia, for surrounding markets and so-called third markets.

He said: "In the field of agriculture, food products and horticulture and weaving, we have a good market in Armenia in the past and in the market of this country, we have the second rank after Turkey; Due to recent events, we can easily replace Turkey in the Armenian agricultural market; We have the highest variety of agricultural products, including weaving and gardening, in the Armenian market. This is one of our seasonal opportunities that we can take advantage of in the second half of this year; For example, oranges, tomatoes and similar products can have a good market in Armenia. In general, jalizi products are the products demanded by Armenia and may be exported to other countries from there.

Al-Fatah added: "Also in the field of medicine and medical equipment, whether in the field of knowledge-based or in the field of general medicine, there are good opportunities in the market of this country for Iran."

The Director General of the Europe and America Office of the Trade Development Organization of Iran added: "In the field of technical and engineering services, including road construction, construction projects, transmission of power lines, there are opportunities, but the necessary design must be done to finance the projects."

$ 420 million trade with Armenia

He continued: "A study of Iran's trade statistics with Armenia over the past 25 years, ie from 1995 to 2020, shows that the largest volume of our trade with Armenia was in 2020 with $ 420 million, of which $ 300 million was exports and $ 120 million was imports." I have. Of course, most of this trade has been related to gas exports in the export sector and more related to electricity imports in the import sector.

"The trade situation between the two countries is expected to improve with the signing of a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Union, of which Armenia is a member," Al-Fatah said. Were it not for the corona dispute and the closure of borders, better figures would have been recorded in trade between the two countries; At the same time, in the same year of implementation of the Eurasian Agreement, ie from November 1998 to November 1999, we had an increase of about 82% in exports. Armenia was also one of the attractive markets.

The Director General of the European and American Office of the Trade Development Organization of Iran stated: The most important feature of the Armenian market for Iran is having a land border with this country, which facilitates access; Therefore, there is a special opportunity between us and Armenia compared to other Eurasian countries, and it is possible to establish relations with the promotion and development programs in the Armenian market, and taking advantage of the new conditions that have arisen in the region, especially after the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Trade developed win-win between the two countries.

He added: "The Ministry of Silence has taken measures in this regard and we are currently hosting the Minister of Economy of Armenia, and he visited several factories in our country and had official meetings and agreed on infrastructure works;" An agreement was also signed between the two sides, which could be a platform for further cooperation in the future.

3 obstacles to the development of economic relations

Regarding the obstacles to the development of economic relations with Armenia, Ulfat said: "The main problem facing the development of economic relations is the issue of banking sanctions." Until banking relations get out of this situation, things will become more complicated, harder and slower; If the problem of banking transactions is solved in some way, we expect the volume of trade to jump.

The Director General of the European and American Office of the Trade Development Organization of Iran added: The next obstacle is the lack of accurate knowledge of each other; Commercial and industrial companies on both sides need to know more about each other's capabilities; Many Armenian and Iranian officials and companies are still unaware of each other's potential; Where to connect more and complement the economy. This challenge can be addressed by increasing travel, holding meetings, exhibitions, and exchanging trade delegations.

He continued: The last obstacle is the discussion related to logistics; Logistics and transportation must be facilitated and, while equipping the fleet, action must be taken to reduce or eliminate traffic costs in the opposite country, which raises the final cost. Of course, it has announced its readiness to facilitate Iran's transit, but Armenia has considerations in this regard.

Al-Fatah stressed: "Knowing the sales networks and distribution chains in Armenia is very important and we must do this with the participation of the private sector and organizations for a better and more appropriate presence of products."