According to Total News, quoted by the Iran Online Chamber, in the 80th report of the series of monitoring reports on world trade developments, a series of recent developments in the global and regional two layers of Iran’s geo-economic environment have been presented and the latest economic trends and forecasts prepared by the largest international economic institutions have been analyzed in the form of new data.
Recently, US Deputy Secretary of Commerce, Don Graves, in his keynote speech at the National Foreign Trade Council for National Security and Competitiveness, emphasized the importance of cooperation between the private sector and the government to deal with national security challenges.
Referring to the revealed vulnerabilities caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, the invasion of authoritarian regimes and technological competition, the US Deputy Secretary of Commerce claimed that the world is at a critical turning point in national security and the private sector has a vital role to play in addressing these challenges.
In another attempt to rein in Russia, the President of US issued an executive order imposing new secondary sanctions on companies involved in activities related to Russia’s military-industrial complex in response to its continued efforts to circumvent sanctions. This ruling requires all American citizens to freeze any assets or common interests with these companies and prohibits them from any transactions with those companies.
Predictions of China’s economic growth in 2024, a sharp decrease in Russia’s energy revenues, and the expansion of trade relations between Brazil and Russia despite Western sanctions are other important international developments.
In terms of developments in the region, Türkiye is the leader of the movements in the region. From the significant growth of trade relations with Azerbaijan, the strengthening of trade relations with Africa, to the news of success in the export of agricultural products, all show the serious determination of this country to play an effective role in the region.
On the other hand, the new data of the Turkish Statistics Organization shows that the country’s exports to Iraq in the eleven months of 2023 faced a 9% decrease compared to the same period in 2022. On the other hand, Iraq’s exports to Turkey in the eleven months of 2023 have increased by 2.5% compared to the same period in 2022.
One of the reasons for the decrease in Turkish exports to Iraq is the increase in international transportation costs. Among the reasons for the increase in Iraq’s exports to Turkey, one is the increase in the price of oil in the world markets and Iraq’s higher income from the sale of oil to Turkey, and the other is the improvement of the political relations between the two countries.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Afghanistan also announced that in 2023, the trade between Afghanistan and Turkey was worth 100 million dollars, of which 23 million dollars were Afghanistan’s exports. In this regard, the administrative deputy of the Afghan Prime Minister’s Office emphasized the development of trade and investment between the two countries in a meeting with Turkish businessmen and investors.
The signing of the energy cooperation agreement between Turkmenistan and the United Arab Emirates, the significant increase in the attraction of direct foreign investment in Saudi Arabia, and Iraq’s efforts to become a data transit hub in the region are other important news.
In the new data section of UNCTAD’s detailed new report titled “World Economic Status and Prospects 2024”, several key findings on the world economic outlook have been highlighted. Also, the World Economic Outlook report recently published by the World Bank has provided important points about the economic outlook of the Middle East and North Africa.
The World Economic Forum’s recently released Trade Technology: A Catalyst of Innovation report also makes some key points about the future of trade technology and its potential to transform global trade.
In a coherent and expert move, the Research Center of the Iran Chamber has put on the agenda the preparation and publication of a series of reports on “Monitoring Global Trade Developments” with the aim of investigating key events in the geo-economic environment of Iran, and in these reports, the important issues of the day from the perspective of influencing economic diplomacy and Iran’s geo-economic situation are discussed.