Plan to Appoint More Commercial Attachés

The number of Iran’s commercial attaches in target export destinations is expected to rise to 10 from the current six, the head of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran said.

"If the necessary budget is provided, our priority is to send commercial attaches to Russia, India, China, Azerbaijan, Iraqi Kurdistan and Oman. Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in Central Asia will be targeted in the next phase," Hamid Zadboum was also quoted as saying by the news outlet of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.

Iran currently has commercial attaches in five countries, namely Turkey, Armenia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. There are two Iranian commercial attaches in Iraq, one based in Baghdad and the other in Basra.

The official noted that assigning commercial attaches to Syria and Lebanon is highly important for Iran as well, noting that TPO will be able to send the attaches by the end of the current Iranian year (March 19, 2020), if the budget is allocated.

According to Zadboum, assigning a commercial attaché in foreign countries would cost a monthly average of $10,000 per person. In other words, more than $120,000 per year are needed for every commercial attaché.