Kuwait Refrains from Issuing Visas to New Iranian Traders
The head of the “Iran-Kuwait Joint Chamber of Commerce” has reported a sharp decline in Iran’s trade with Kuwait compared to the past, saying that one of the reasons is Kuwait’s refusal to issue visas to Iranian traders.
Hani Faisali, on December 20 (December 29 on the Persian calendar), in an interview with ILNA news agency, referring to “the inability of new Iranian traders to enter the Kuwait market,” said: “Unfortunately, Kuwaitis have not been issuing visas to our new traders for some time, and it is not possible for new Iranian traders to operate in this country.”
He mentioned the spread of coronavirus as another important factor in reducing trade between the two countries and added that currently “those who work with Kuwait have already been there before.”
Referring to “correspondence with the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce,” he added: “They have not yet given us a proper response.”
Kuwait is refraining from issuing visas to Iranian traders even though, according to Faisali, “a shipping line has been launched by one of the member companies of the Iran-Kuwait Joint Chamber of Commerce” that “runs from Khorramshahr to Kuwait and refrigerated containers and many perishable goods are transported to Kuwait through this route.”
Trade between Iran and Kuwait has declined while officials of both countries, particularly the Iranian side, have repeatedly expressed their willingness to increase commercial relations. For instance, in April of this year, Mohammad Irani, the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Kuwait, in a meeting with Mohammad Jassim Al-Saqer, the head of this country’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that Iran’s embassy in Kuwait “is making efforts to remove obstacles facing investors.”
Recently, Seyyed Rouhollah Latifi, spokesman for the Islamic Republic’s Customs Administration, announced the volume of Iran’s exports to Kuwait in the first eight months of this year as 1,912,000 tons of goods worth 91 million dollars, which according to him represents a 6 percent decline compared to the same period last year.
This is while Iran’s exports to Kuwait in previous years have been several times higher than the current figure. For instance, according to official statistics, the volume of Iran’s exports to Kuwait in just the first eight months of 2018 was announced as more than 184 million dollars.
Source: DW
