UAE's Emirates Airline to expand cargo ties with Iran

Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Dubai carrier Emirates Airline, said on Monday it will increase its cargo capacity to Iran by starting five daily non-stop flights to the city of Mashhad as of Sept. 1.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Dubai, in particular, seek close trade ties with Iran, especially after Tehran and world powers reached a nuclear deal in July, which will see the lifting of economic sanctions imposed on the Islamic republic in exchange for curbs on its nuclear activities and a new inspections regime.

"We anticipate that trade between the UAE and Iran to further flourish as a result of the launch of this new direct five times weekly service," Khalid Mohd Al-Hinai, vice president of Cargo Commercial for the Middle East, Gulf Arab countries and Iran, said.

Mashhad, located in Iran's northeast in the border triangle with Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, will become Emirates' second Iranian destination after the capital city Tehran, which Dubai's state-owned Emirates has been serving since March 1990, Emirates said in an e-mailed statement.

In 2014, the biggest airliner in the Middle East moved more than half a million passengers and transported over 17,500 tons of cargo to and from Iran.

The UAE is the fourth largest trade partner of the Islamic republic and posted an increase in trade exchange with Iran to 17 billion U.S. dollars in 2014, according to Dubai daily newspaper Khaleej Times.

This value, however, remained lower than the 23 billion U.S. dollars set in 2011. The UAE business community banks on pickup on trade with Iran once sanctions are completely lifted. Endit