Taipei, May 25 (CNA) Foreign Minister Timothy C.T. Yang denied Tuesday a media report that a request by Iran to establish a trade office in Taiwan has been rejected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pointing out that trade affairs of this nature are nothing to do with the ministry.
The Iranian request to establish a trade office is being evaluated by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) , the country's quasi-official agency for promoting international trade, Yang said.
He made the comment in response to a reporter's question that cited a May 21 Associated Press (AP) story reporting that Taiwan had turned down Iran's request to open a "diplomatic mission" in Taiwan.
Yang told reporters that Taiwan's relations with Iran are largely based on trade and economic activities, which is why TAITRA would be the first agency to evaluate the request.
"If TAITRA has made a decision, the request will not even be submitted to the MOFA, " Yang said.
The AP story quoted the head of Israel's representative office in Taiwan, Raphael Gamzou, who quoted an anonymous MOFA official as saying that Taiwan had already turned down the Iranian proposal after taking account of the position of the United States.
TAITRA spokesman Hsu Chang-ping declined to comment to CNA on the matter.
According to Bureau of Foreign Trade statistics, the total trade volume between Taiwan and Iran, Taiwan's 25th-largest trading partner, reached US$2.5 billion in 2009. Most of Taiwan's imports, valued at US$1.98 billion, are petroleum products. (By Chris Wang) ENDITEM/J