According to Khandozi, after a long hiatus in trade relations, it will take time to resume and return to previous levels, but current statistics show that there is a long way to go to revive economic relations between Tehran and Riyadh. According to surveys, the volume of trade between Iran's other neighbors and Saudi Arabia is significant.
During his press conference, the government's economic spokesperson, in response to the question about the state of Iran's trade relations with Saudi Arabia after the visit of the Minister of Economy and the Governor of Central Bank in this country, said: “The resumption of political relations for the establishment of embassies and diplomatic activities will be completed much faster. “It is enough, but in the economic and commercial field, after several years, we must reintegrate the economic sectors of the two countries into new contracts and interactions, which takes time.
The Minister of Economy referred to his recent trip to Saudi Arabia and his meeting with his Saudi counterpart and added: "During this trip, I saw the atmosphere of commercial interaction between the two countries very positive, because at the same time, the Saudi delegation Saudi Arabia attended the Tehran Expo 2024, which is good news for the resumption of trade, economic and investment relations between the two countries.
He continued: At this meeting, specific proposals were made for the coming year in order to witness the fruit of negotiations and economic and trade relations, of which almost all the proposals of the Iranian delegation were accepted by its Saudi counterpart, and two persons from the parties were required to follow the corresponding implementation of this proposal.
From this point of view, the outlook is positive, progressive and constructive in the economic field, and the strengthening of political relations between the two countries will facilitate the increase in trade.
A look at trade between Iran and Saudi Arabia
According to international reports, Iranian exports to Saudi Arabia reached $41,000, with a significant decline of around $57 million over the past 26 years.
Examination of the statements of some economic activists also shows that in 2022, the volume of trade between Iran and Saudi Arabia was around 41 thousand dollars, which reached around 15 million dollars after the improvement relationships.
However, a detailed examination of 2023 customs data shows that the total value of trade between Iran and Saudi Arabia is less than $500,000; This question not only does not match some unofficial statistics announced by economic activists, but also shows that despite the improvement in relations, there is still a long way to go to reach previous levels of trade between the two countries.
Cooperation program with the Islamic Development Bank
Another part of the economic spokesperson's speech was devoted to the Iranian proposal for new financing at the Riyadh summit.
According to Khandozi, the agenda of the Riyadh meeting, which was held on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Islamic Development Bank, was to create a new institutional initiative, which has a history in many international development banks and which would benefit Muslim countries. less.
He said the initiative is a concessional financing window and added: Ultimately, what was finally approved by this summit is that low-income Muslim countries, in accordance with their policies of poverty reduction, with lower interest rates and with longer payments. Use this funding for your projects.
   The government's economic spokesperson said: "Good news has been received for the country's infrastructure projects, including wastewater from many provinces in the country, that with the implementation and finalization of financing of these projects, we will see its fruits in the field of civil engineering and the development of the countrys.
Regarding the President's news regarding non-performing financial institutions and liquidation of these institutions, Khandozi noted: Bank mergers and liquidation of non-performing banks and institutions are a continuation of the path we saw last year when three cases have been awarded, and this path will continue even stronger in the new year.