Six commercial attachés participated in the eighteenth meeting of the Committee for Trade Promotion and Development of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mining, and Agriculture (TCCIMA) before departing for their assigned countries. The goal of the meeting was to present the attachés' plans and familiarize them with the requests and problems of participants in the economic sector.
The event emphasized shifting from formal procedures to practical activities based on the real needs of the private sector. This includes finding reliable trade partners, facilitating exports and imports, resolving obstacles related to currency, customs, and logistics, as well as strengthening continuous interaction between consultants and the private sector.
The meeting, which brought together economic figures and traders with commercial attachés from five regional and Asian countries, took place at the Tehran Chamber. The head of the Department of Commercial Attachés of the Organization for Trade Promotion and the President of the Iranian Export Confederation were present. Discussions covered topics such as the role of attachés in developing exports, attracting investment, establishing connections, resolving trade disputes, strengthening ties with the private sector, and removing barriers to exchanges with target countries.
At the beginning of the session, Mohammad Reza Ghaforollahi, head of the Committee for Trade Promotion and Development of the Tehran Chamber, commented on the duties of commercial attachés, noting that they include continuous market information on the destination country, promoting exports, attracting foreign investment, networking, resolving trade disputes, and supporting trade negotiations.
Ghaforollahi stressed that any solution provided for exporters or any assistance given to participants in economic activities would ultimately lead to generating foreign currency for the country and creating jobs. He also noted that attention must be paid to the role of consultants in the import sector, as a significant portion of the country's imports consists of raw materials necessary for production, and therefore facilitating imports contributes to the continuity and development of production.
The head of the Committee for Trade Promotion and Development of the Tehran Chamber, emphasizing the importance of interaction between consultants and economic entities, stated that the purpose of the meeting was to present the attachés' plans for their stay in the target countries, as well as providing an opportunity for economic entities to share their experiences, concerns, and problems. This will allow the attachés to begin their mission with a deeper understanding and a broader perspective. Establishing a connection between consultants and economic entities from the outset can ensure higher quality and more effective results from the attachés' activities.
Mohammad Lahuti, head of the Committee for Non-Resource Export Development of the Iranian Chamber, also spoke, stating that 'economic entities and responsible institutions must join forces to solve export problems.' He added that a commercial attaché can act as an intermediary and a link between traders from the country of origin and new markets, and this function is used in many countries, both developed and developing, to develop export markets.
Lahuti continued by mentioning that this structure has existed in the country for over two decades, but the activities of commercial attachés during this period have seen ups and downs. In some countries, consultants have established very good relationships with chambers of commerce, joint chambers, and economic entities, leading to market development, while in some markets these relationships have been less strong.
The President of the Iranian Export Confederation emphasized that although commercial attachés are appointed and dispatched by the Organization for Trade Promotion and the Ministry of Industry, Mining, and Trade, and their connection to the organization's policy is important, communication with the private sector, chambers of commerce, joint chambers, and Iranian traders must also become part of their work policy. The closer and better this interaction, the greater the achievements it will bring to the consultant for the country, and the wider the expansion of Iran's presence in foreign markets.