Mohammad Ali Dehghan Dehnavi, head of the Iranian Promotion of Trade Organization (PMO), outlined three key priorities for the organization this year: monitoring, facilitation, and proactive engagement.
Speaking at the second meeting of the National Think Tank on Foreign Trade in Isfahan, Dehnavi acknowledged that the current year has been challenging for international trade, particularly due to regional events and military actions. Nevertheless, he emphasized that such circumstances should not cause despair or halt activities.
Regarding monitoring, he called for real-time awareness of trade conditions, identifying bottlenecks at borders, and analyzing export trends at the level of individual companies and products, rather than limiting analysis to customs statistics.
Concerning facilitation, Dehnavi focused on eliminating practical obstacles faced by the private sector. These issues include currency obligations, delays in goods clearance, and rising logistics costs. He warned that if transportation costs make exports economically unviable, exporters will leave the markets, leading to a loss of market share and revenue.
Finally, in the area of proactive engagement, Dehnavi strongly recommended abandoning reactive measures in favor of a preemptive approach to identifying threats and opportunities in export markets. He also stressed the importance of utilizing provincial chambers of commerce and ensuring that trade missions lead to concrete agreements and increased exports.