The positioning of Iran in today's global economic setting provides an opportunity to endeavor to effect on an international scale what she has successfully carried out at home. Fully conscious of the fact that development is a shared and common responsibility of all countries, Iran aims to pursue cooperation on an bilateral and multilateral basis with the aim of establishing a new international economic order under which the sovereign equality and equal participation of all states will be secured toward the solving of the economic problems faced by the global community today. To this end, though not, as of yet, a member of the World Trade Organization, Iran has been working towards the essential goals of this organization and actively participates in multilateral trade negotiations that aim to devise measures for the solution of basic problems of the global economy such as monetary reforms and the implementation of an international framework for the conduct of world trade. These steps are best evidenced by the excellent relations Iran maintains with international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, UNCTAD and UNIDO all of which Iran has been active in since their inception. Complementing these relations, Iran is unique for its active participation in regional and international organizations in which it shares common cultural and religious backgrounds. Three of the major organizations in which Iran plays an active role comprise of:
The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)
Following the landmark OIC Meeting held in Tehran in December 1997, marking Iran's ascendancy to the leadership of this organization, has lead to unique opportunities. Founded in September 1969 with the aim of uniting the Muslim world for facing the challenges it faces, its membership now comprises one quarter of the worlds nations, one fifth of its population, 735 billion of the 997.41 billion barrels of the worlds oil reserves, 50% of its proven gas reserves, one fifth of its cotton, one sixth of its rice, 30% of its phosphate, 35% of its tin and 10% of its uranium. The recent steps taken towards the formation of an Islamic Common Market will serve as a catalyst by which a trading block
founded upon common cultural and religious beliefs could serve as an important basis for member countries to boost trade, achieve optimal allocation of resources and higher standards of living. The need for such a step is made all the more acute by the fact that despite such massive endowments of resources, the combined OIC members share of world gross product stands at less than 5%.
The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO)
The development of a means of mutual cooperation capable of sustaining the regional economy into the 21st Century is a priority for Iran and its regional neighbors. As such, the mutual needs of linkage routes, commercial ties and regional facilities have become a priority . It is within this context that ECO , since its expansion in 1992 from a small tri-lateral entity consisting of Iran, Turkey and Pakistan, has emerged into one of the largest global economic unions in the path of the European Union, NAFTA, APEC and MERCOSUR. The entry of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrghyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan has brought about an entrepreneurial climate for inter-regional business in an geographic area equivalent to Western Europe and with a population of over 330 million. With the completion of major road and railway projects such as the aforementioned Bafq - Bandar Abass - Mashad - Sarakhs - Tajan railway and the Lake Van by-pass, combined with the implementation of preferential tariff rates among member nations as a first step for the elimination of trade barriers, ECO has grown in stature internationally, forging ties with the European Union and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). ECO is now focusing on the upgrade of its transport and shipping links and has already set up a shipping line, regional bank and insurance company to underwrite regional trade. These undertakings, when combined with Iran's recent upgrades in its road, rail and air links will serve as a major impetus for the facilitation of cross border trade among major nations.
The D-8 was founded in1996 by the countries of Iran, Turkey, Bangladesh,
Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria and Pakistan as a global economic alliance
with the mandate of strengthening economic cooperation among the member
countries and for carrying out a dialogue with the G-7 (Group of Seven)
industrially developed countries. Collaboration amongst D-8 members covers
a broad amalgamation of subjects including, inter alia, trade, industry,
communication, finance, banking and privatization, rural development, science
and technology, poverty alleviation, agriculture, health, tourism and sports.
Given the fact that the total combined populations of D-8 member countries
stands at 788.4 million equal to about 13.5% of the world population, it
is expected that this alliance will have a major impact on global economic
affairs. An indication of this potential is evidenced by the fact that
during the period between 1990 - 1996 world trade (exports and imports)
grew by 5.5 % per annum, during the same period total exports of D-8 countries
grew by 87% while imports grew by 93%. These increases correspond to annual
growth rates of 10.4% for exports and 11% for imports, well above global
trends. These figures point also to an immense potential for joint and
multilateral cooperation in economic , commercial, industrial, agricultural,
and technological fields.
