The secretary of Iran Urban Economics Scientific Association (IUESA):

The capacities of developing economic relations between Iran an Ukraine, focusing on tourism

Noting that Iran and Ukraine, as two regionally and internationally influential counries, should increase their economic relations, -  Dr. Seyed Mohsen Tabatabaei Mozdabadi, the secretary of IUESA currently said.

Iran ranked 14th in terms of exports, and in terms of Ukranian commercial exchange Iran ranked 23th, that it can be much more than before.

Saying that tourism, particularly urban tourism is one of the grounds for further development and strengtheing  of economic relations, Tabatabaei emphasized that Iran with its rich culture and ancient history ranked 10th in tourism destinations, and therefore, it could be the attractive destination for Ukranian citizens. Noting that eliminating or facilitating visas between Ukraine and Iran can result in developing tourism between these two countries, he added, that more than 5 million foreign tourists visit  annually Iran, but this figure is lower for the presence of Ukranian citizens than from other countries.

Referring to Kiev experience in removing visa with European countries, Dr. Tabatabaei further said that Ukraine tourism has increased continiously since this decision. Before 2008-2009 recession, the annual average growth of foreign visitors was nearly 23% in Kiev during three years, and totally about 1.6 million visitors stayed at Kiev hotels and about 259 thousand ones i.e. 16 percent were foreign tourists, Tabatabaei said.

Saying that one of the solutions of economic development between Iran and Ukraine is a cooperation in urban development, the secretary of IUESA said. Iranian and Ukranian cities have had good experiences in terms of presenting and providing proper services to citizens and these experiences can be exchanged in various ways.

Emphasizing that Ukranian cities, particularly Kiev, are at favorable level, he said today, some metropolitans have different problems such as traffic jams, air pollution, and housing quality; however, scientific and comprehensive solutions can be made with joint cooperation to solve these problems.

One of the urban features of Kiev is maintaining historical areas leading to keep its identity despite renovation, Tabatabaei said.