An Iranian-Qatari joint economic committee convened in Doha on Sunday for the first time in 13 years. An Iranian delegation of 70 experts and businessmen from the private and public sectors headed by Deputy Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Mohammad Reza Fayyad arrived in Doha to participate in the two-day meeting. Iran’s news agency (IRNA) quoted Fayyad as saying that the meeting would discuss many pending issues between the two countries. He added that there were five committees that would hold specialized meetings to deal with various issues related to trade, mines, customs, oil, petrochemicals, exports and banking. “Close cooperation between Iran and Qatar is taking a new direction and [we are] moving towards strengthening of relations. Although the volume of trade exchange with Qatar is very small, trade is expected to witness remarkable progress through appropriate planning,” he added, as reported by IRNA. The Iranian official also stressed that there were “no serious obstacles” that would prevent Iran and Qatar from strengthening their bilateral relations. The sixth meeting of the economic committee at the level of experts was held on Sunday, and continues on Monday at the ministerial level. Relations between Iran and Qatar have witnessed remarkable growth in the past year after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut ties with the Arab peninsula. The value of trade exchange between the two countries during the past year amounted to $250 million.