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Mottaki: Relations with Arab world good, sanctions not biting

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Kuwait, Dec 2, IRNA -- IRI Foreign Minister said here Wednesday Iran enjoys most intimate relations with regional countries and takes most serious steps aimed at further strengthening them.

Speaking on the sidelines of the International Donors and Investors Conference for East Sudan, held at Kuwait’s Sheraton Hotel, Manouchehr Mottaki said at a press conference in response to a question on Iran’s relations with the Arabic countries, “Our relations with the entire Arab world countries, even with those with who we have no political relations, are good and satisfactory, because we believe we have shared interests and each of us are the limbs of the same Islamic body, while those that are in the opposite front are opposed to our religion and to our Islamic society.”

He added, “Iran and Egypt are two major and role playing countries in the region and at the international scenes and we have shared stands over some world developments, while there are economic relations between the two countries and we welcome the steps taken for the further expansion of bilateral ties.”

A reporter asked about the fortified sanctions against Iran. Mottaki reiterated, “During the course of the past five years that the sanctions issue against our countries has been in vogue we have been witnesses to noticeable blossoming in our country’s foreign trade.”

He added, “Five years ago in the field of oil and gas we used to produce some 30% of the required industrial parts and importing the remaining 70%, while today that faction has been totally reversed and we are producing 70% and importing 30%, the Iranian oil industry technicians are aimed at manufacturing at least 90% of the Iranian oil industry’s required parts in near future.”

Mottaki meanwhile reiterated, “Five years ago when the sanctions began the Iranian non-oil exports comprised less than 8% of the country’s total exports volume , while today we have reached the 30 billion dollar border.

He meanwhile referred to the country’s self sufficiency in production or gasoline as another step in countering the effects of the economic sanctions and pointed out that the volume of Iran’s trade with the regional countries has exceeded billions of dollars.

He added, “The volume of Iran’s trade with the European countries, too, increased between 14 to 20 percent during the past year.”

Mottaki said, “Our trade ties with the regional countries increased billions of dollars during the past five years compared to the same period between five to ten years ago, which has been quite unprecedented.”