Doha defies Arabs, tightens economic ties with Tehran

CAIRO – 26 November 2017: Qatar is seeking to increase bilateral trade with Iran, said the Qatari Minister of Economy Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani in a meeting with Iranian Minister of Industries, Mining and Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari in Tehran on Saturday.

Doha insists on defying Arabs’ demands to cut ties with Tehran, instead it Is currently seeking to increase its economic and bilateral trade with the Persian Republic of Iran.
“The bilateral interactions between the two sides have significantly increased during the last few months,” the Qatari minister added.

Iran and Qatar have been forging stronger economic ties ever since Arab countries, led by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, severed diplomatic relations with Doha early June, accusing it of supporting terrorist groups.

"Iran is playing an important role in the transport of goods from Turkey and Azerbaijan to Qatar," the Qatari minister added.

“In the past seven months, Iran has exported $97 million [worth] of goods and less than $1 billion [worth] of technical and engineering services to Qatar,” he added.

Notably, Iran's exports to Qatar saw a significant growth during the month of October. Qatar has suggested that they want to reach the common trade value of up to $5 billion in the future.

Shariatmadari said given that Qatar will be hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Iran’s technical and engineering services can meet the needs of the Qatari market.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said back in September that the Arab economic boycott with Qatar is pushing it closer to Iran economically.

"They [Arab quartet] said Qatar was now closer to Iran. By their measures they are pushing Qatar to Iran," Said the Qatari Foreign Minister in Paris.