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ARMENIA DENIES FINALIZING FREE TRADE DEAL WITH IRAN
Emil Danielyan
Armenialiberty.org
Sept 14 2010
Officials in Yerevan denied on Tuesday reports that Armenia and
neighboring Iran have finalized a free trade agreement in an effort
to expand bilateral economic ties.
"The Tehran Times" claimed on Monday that the agreement will be signed
during Armenian Economy Minister Nerses Yeritsian's upcoming visit
to Iran. Citing the official IRNA news agency, the English-language
daily said the issue was discussed last week by Iranian Commerce
Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari and the Armenian ambassador in Tehran,
Grigor Arakelian.
An Armenian government source dismissed the report, however, saying
that the two governments are still holding "preliminary discussions" on
a free trade deal and that talk of its impending signing is therefore
"premature."
"The Iranians very much want to have it signed but the terms they are
offering are not beneficial for us," the source, who asked not to be
identified, told RFE/RL's Armenian service. He did not elaborate on
Yerevan's objections.
The source added that such an agreement "will definitely not be signed"
during Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian's visit to the Islamic Republic
scheduled for the second half of October. He and Armenian officials
could not clarify whether it will take place after the separate trip
reportedly planned by Yeritsian but not yet confirmed by the Armenian
Ministry of Economy.
Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian (L) greets Iranian Foreign Minister
Manuchehr Mottaki in Yerevan, 27Jan2010The Iranian side is also likely
to raise the matter with Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian. The
latter was due to fly to Tehran later on Tuesday for talks with his
Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, and other Iranian leaders.
Mottaki stressed the importance of a free trade regime between
Armenia and Iran in an interview with Panarmenian.net published on
September 2. He said it "would help to elevate our relations to an
adequate level."
The Iranian minister likewise made a case for the signing of such a
deal when he visited Yerevan early this year. Armenian-Iranian trade
would skyrocket as a result, he said.
The scale of that trade remains rather modest in both absolute
and relative terms. According to the National Statistical Service
(NSS), it totaled $97.6 million and accounted for only 4.5 percent
of Armenia's overall external exchange in the first half of this
year. By comparison, the volume of Armenia's trade with the United
States was slightly higher.
The Iranian market remains protected by extremely high import tariffs,
a sharp contrast to Armenia's liberal trade regime. That is one of
the reasons why Armenian exports to Iran make up only a fraction
of bilateral trade. Armenian businessmen have long complained about
that disparity.
Iran, which unlike Armenia is not a member of the World Trade
Organization, had expressed readiness in 2001 to set duty-free
import quotas for some Armenian products such as including machines,
chemicals, and cigarettes. No relevant inter-governmental agreement
is known to have been signed in the following years, however.
Armenian-Iranian trade should rise significantly in the coming
years with an anticipated surge in Iranian natural gas supplies to
Armenia and the implementation of more joint energy projects planned
by the two governments. Those include the construction of a major
hydroelectric station on the Armenian-Iranian border and a third
high-voltage transmission line linking the two countries' power grids.
From: A. Papazian
Emil Danielyan
Armenialiberty.org
Sept 14 2010
Officials in Yerevan denied on Tuesday reports that Armenia and
neighboring Iran have finalized a free trade agreement in an effort
to expand bilateral economic ties.
"The Tehran Times" claimed on Monday that the agreement will be signed
during Armenian Economy Minister Nerses Yeritsian's upcoming visit
to Iran. Citing the official IRNA news agency, the English-language
daily said the issue was discussed last week by Iranian Commerce
Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari and the Armenian ambassador in Tehran,
Grigor Arakelian.
An Armenian government source dismissed the report, however, saying
that the two governments are still holding "preliminary discussions" on
a free trade deal and that talk of its impending signing is therefore
"premature."
"The Iranians very much want to have it signed but the terms they are
offering are not beneficial for us," the source, who asked not to be
identified, told RFE/RL's Armenian service. He did not elaborate on
Yerevan's objections.
The source added that such an agreement "will definitely not be signed"
during Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian's visit to the Islamic Republic
scheduled for the second half of October. He and Armenian officials
could not clarify whether it will take place after the separate trip
reportedly planned by Yeritsian but not yet confirmed by the Armenian
Ministry of Economy.
Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian (L) greets Iranian Foreign Minister
Manuchehr Mottaki in Yerevan, 27Jan2010The Iranian side is also likely
to raise the matter with Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian. The
latter was due to fly to Tehran later on Tuesday for talks with his
Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, and other Iranian leaders.
Mottaki stressed the importance of a free trade regime between
Armenia and Iran in an interview with Panarmenian.net published on
September 2. He said it "would help to elevate our relations to an
adequate level."
The Iranian minister likewise made a case for the signing of such a
deal when he visited Yerevan early this year. Armenian-Iranian trade
would skyrocket as a result, he said.
The scale of that trade remains rather modest in both absolute
and relative terms. According to the National Statistical Service
(NSS), it totaled $97.6 million and accounted for only 4.5 percent
of Armenia's overall external exchange in the first half of this
year. By comparison, the volume of Armenia's trade with the United
States was slightly higher.
The Iranian market remains protected by extremely high import tariffs,
a sharp contrast to Armenia's liberal trade regime. That is one of
the reasons why Armenian exports to Iran make up only a fraction
of bilateral trade. Armenian businessmen have long complained about
that disparity.
Iran, which unlike Armenia is not a member of the World Trade
Organization, had expressed readiness in 2001 to set duty-free
import quotas for some Armenian products such as including machines,
chemicals, and cigarettes. No relevant inter-governmental agreement
is known to have been signed in the following years, however.
Armenian-Iranian trade should rise significantly in the coming
years with an anticipated surge in Iranian natural gas supplies to
Armenia and the implementation of more joint energy projects planned
by the two governments. Those include the construction of a major
hydroelectric station on the Armenian-Iranian border and a third
high-voltage transmission line linking the two countries' power grids.
From: A. Papazian