Tehran- A delegation of  UAE businesspeople and economic officials hold talks with Iranian counterparts in Tehran.

The joint meeting, which was hosted by Social Security Investment Company (SSIC, also known by its Persian acronym Shasta) and attended by senior officials of the company, focused on a range of issues, including investment opportunities in Iran, Shasta Media reported.

Hailing UAE-Iran’s deep ties, Ebrahim Bazian, managing director of the investment company, said that trade between the countries had been on the rise in recent decades, turning Abu Dhabi a main trade partner of Tehran.

Iran, he noticed, was located in a geographic position that could serve as an economic bridge between UAE and member countries of the Economic Cooperation Organization, stressing that an improvement in economic cooperation between the two neighbors would provide access to a big market with a population of over one billion people.

Also, UAE ambassador to Iran, Saif Mohammed Al Zaabi, said ties between the two countries were historical and deep-rooted, adding that bilateral economic opportunities would pave a way for investments by private sectors of the two countries.

 Abdullah Mohammed Al Mazrouei, chairman of the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry who headed the Emirati economic delegation, said Iran and UAE economies complement one another.

The two countries, Al Mazrouei said, should seize the opportunity of joint economic cooperation in central and west Asia, hoping that the meeting –the first round of such gatherings – would initiate such collaborations.

Ehsan Ahmadi, Shasta’s deputy director for strategic planning and investment, briefed the delegation on investment opportunities of the company, which according to the official made up two percent of Iran Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“Shasta plays an effective part in 15 strategic industries in Iran,” Ahmadi said, adding that the company’s 270 holdings and subsidiaries had the potential to export products to regional and neighboring countries.

He singled out $2-billion investment in a petrol olefin project as one of the major investments by Shasta, saying that the company’s investment projects had good financial returns for investors.  

Referring to the 171-million-dollar investment in Barez Tire Company, Ahmadi said the development project would be implemented within the next two years. He described as major the 350-million-dollar investment in gold mining development projects in southeastern province of Sistan Baluchistan and western province of Kurdistan to generate a capacity to produce 10 tons of  gold per year.

Mostafa Suri, deputy economic and investment director of the Social Security Organization (Shasta is its investment arm), stressed at the meeting on the importance of an increase in Iran’s non-oil export, adding that the organization was planning to launch a permanent exhibition of the country’s export capabilities.     

He said the regional countries, particularly UAE, could be suitable markets for Iran’s export, offering the Emirati delegation a permanent booth at the exhibition.

The meeting was the first between Shasta and Emirati senior businesspeople and economic officials in which representatives from leading commercial and investment companies from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah and etc. participated.