The Institute for Trade Studies and Research was founded in 1980 with the general mandate of serving as a center by which all sectors of the Iranian commercial community could rely upon to have their research, statistical and information needs addressed.

To achieve this aim, the Institute is divided into four departments:

Research: This department has some thirty full time personnel and over fifty affiliated experts who actively study and analyze the most relevant commercial issues of the day. These studies range from publishing guidelines for meeting quality standards by Iranian exporters to identifying the commercial potential of different Iranian provinces.

Training: The Institute utilizes some of the nation's best known experts in their related fields for the training of private and public sector managers in the leading commercial issues of the day. Topics have included intensive courses on various aspects of the World Trade Organization as well as training courses for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).

Information Technology: In a world that is becoming closely integrated through computers and telecommunications, the information technology branch of the Institute (Raahbar Informatic Services) has undertaken major steps such as the launching of a National Trade Point and the commissioning of a commercial BBS system providing on-line access to the latest information pertaining to national and global commerce. Another affiliate of the Institute, EAN Iran, provides numbering technology services (bar coding) via the EAN system, a standard, global multi-industry system for item identification

! Publishing: The publishing arm of the Institute (The Commerce Printing and Publishing House has a catalogue of over 300 titles addressing issues as varied as the status of tea plantation in Iran to the effects of World Trade Organization on global commerce. It also publishes a monthly 'Business Survey' and a quarterly 'Journal of Commerce'.

In addition to its domestic activities, the Institute also has close cooperation with many of the worlds leading economic organizations such as ESCAP, UNCITRAL, UNDP and UN/EDIFACT. For further information on the Institute and its available services please contact:

The Institute for Trade Studies and Research
240 North Kargar Ave.
P.O Box 14185- 671
Tehran, The Islamic Republic of Iran,
Tel: 98-21- 933-655
Fax: 98-21-933-656
E-mail:104436.256@compuserve.com
E-mail:103115.221@compuserve.com
Website: http://www.irancommerce.com
Website: http://www.irtp.com