Emily Cloke, Director of Trade, UK Embassy Tehran, Iran

BICC Member's Meeting

A Talk by Emily Cloke, Director of Trade, UK Embassy Tehran, Iran

Held at The British-Iranian Chamber of Commerce, 2nd December, 2016

At the Members meeting on 2nd December, the Chamber was pleased to have Emily Cloke, Director of Trade, Iran from the British Embassy, Tehran as our guest speaker. The trade section in the Embassy in Tehran now comprises 5 members of staff tasked with increasing UK trade with Iran and providing support to British companies wishing to trade there.

Emily re-affirmed the British government’s support for an expansion of trade with Iran, noting that there is cross-departmental activity involving the Department of International Trade, UK Export Finance and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office amongst others to promote that trade. She noted that UK Export Finance was the first national credit guarantee agency to offer cover for transactions with Iran.

Responding to assessments by the Iranian government as to which sectors of UK industry would be most likely to succeed quickly in Iran, the International Trade Team has been focusing on Aerospace (where the Iranian government is seeking to buy up to 200 new aircraft for its national fleet) , the oil and gas sector and retail. Healthcare is also a high priority for the Iranian government which is seeking to increase hospital capacity in Iran by 100,000 new beds. A visit to the UK by Iran’s Minister of Health is under consideration.

The trade team has already noted an increase in the number of deals being agreed in Iran by British companies including British Airways, Vodafone, Lotus Cars and Croda International. It was hoped that this activity would increase confidence in the market on the part of other British companies.

Recognising the tough challenge posed by the unwillingness of UK banks to support transactions with Iran, Emily noted that the Department for International Trade is working with HM Treasury to represent the banks’ concerns to the US government. The priority at present is for Iranian Banks to upgrade their compliance systems. Questions from the membership focused overwhelmingly on the frustration caused by the continuing refusal of clearing banks to support deals between British companies and Iranian customers. Members called for alternative means of addressing the impasse.

The chairman thanked Emily for her and her team’s energetic support for British business in Iran.

The content of this talk does not necessarily express the views of The British Iranian Chamber of Commerce. The views and opinions expressed are those of the speaker.