By Danielle Gabriel
BEING an engineer back in his country could have been an easier path, but Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Tanhaei chose the bigger workload of bridging nations and building up opportunities in the international community.
“To be a civil engineer, you can serve yourself and a few people. There is less stress, less pressure. To be a diplomat, it is a burden on your shoulder. You have to take care of your national interest and, at the same time, you have to take care of the nation you are residing,” Tanhaei said.
Tanhaei, who took up post in the Philippines for the first time in December last year, is quite a jack of all trades—earning a diploma in mathematics and physics, as well as taking up courses in civil engineering, aviation and mining—before finally deciding on taking up international relations from Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Iranian envoy admits to having knowledge in flying a few simple aircraft and lists swimming as his favorite pastime, saying he can swim for one hour straight.
“I also like to be a gardener,” Tanhaei quipped.
An enormous task
However, him having a green thumb, and being a pilot and a swimmer have little to no room anymore, given his new position as ambassador. Despite an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. working hours in the embassy, Tanhaei said he puts three additional hours to office time.
Tanhaei added that his position entails a lot of responsibility to the people of both countries, a feat he considers a moral imperative.
“You have to be alert always. Here in the Philippines, I see so many poor people. I feel I have to be responsible and that I have to do my job [so] those poor people in the Philippines and in Iran can see a better future,” Tanhaei said.
He added: “Because human is human. Morality is morality. Human rights is human rights. It absolutely makes no difference whether a person is Muslim or Christian. I have the responsibility to assist. This responsibility toward your people and toward humanity always keeps you under stress.”
Over the course of his diplomatic career, Tanhaei has held positions in China, Japan, Australia and other Southeast Asian countries—his evident preference for the East stemming from a more closely associated culture with the countries in the region.
Similar cultures
According to Tanhaei, he immediately drew the similarities between Iranian and Philippine culture. The Iranian diplomat claimed the way of life of the two countries is “complementary.”
“They can easily get together. They can live side by side. There are some differences and good points in your culture that we do not have in Iran,” he said.
“Iranians are kind of always in a rush, but Filipinos are quite patient. I do think this culture of tolerance is something we can learn from your society,” Tanhaei added.
Being celebratory people is also something Filipinos and Iranians share, Tanhaei said, while claiming Iranians like to have more fun than work as opposed to the common misconception that they are serious in everything they do.
“The people like to get together with their families. They do like to have celebrations and get-togethers, and invite guests to their homes. In some cases, they are quite serious but they prefer to finish their work as soon as possible in order to go to leisure time or go inside or outside the country,” Tanhaei said.
Improving cultural relations and awareness would be a priority for Tanhaei as he stressed the need for bridging an “information gap” between the Philippines and Iran in order to facilitate better interaction in the areas of trade, tourism and national security.
According to the ambassador, there are ongoing plans to have an Iran Week, where Iranian films and other cultural and arts events will be held. Tanhaei also revealed they working with the foreign-affairs ministry in Iran to establish Philippine exhibits to showcase Filipino-made handicrafts, products and food in their country.
Strong economic foundation
Admittedly, Tanhaei is not that satisfied with the trade and investments status between Iran and the Philippines, saying there is “huge capacity” waiting to be tapped between the two countries.
“I have to say it is not something I can say is good. Unfortunately, because of lack of knowledge and understanding regarding the economic and commercial situation in both countries, the business relations is quite limited,” Tanhaei said.
Tanhaei estimated only an average of $100 million in two-way trade between the two countries annually.
The Philippines, being an agricultural country, should bank on exporting tropical fruits, like bananas and mangoes, and other fruit produce ‘that would be quite welcomed in Iran,’” the ambassador said.
Meanwhile, Tanhaei added that Iran’s strong pharmaceutical industry could be a good sector for the Philippine market. He said Iran can produce top-quality pharmaceuticals at one-tenth of the price in the drugstores in the country.
Tanhaei also noted that a boxed mind-set among businessmen from both countries is preventing them from exploring potential trading opportunities.
“People in Iran or in the Philippines think, ‘Okay, we are engaged in friendly big industrial nations. We are in close relations with certain states, so anything we need we can get. No need to expand our business relations with other countries,’” he explained.
Tanhaei said the key to a stable economic structure would be to build a solid foundation.
In this case, Tanhaei wants to bring an Iranian business delegation to discover the opportunities in the Philippine market and potentially engage in joint ventures or investment projects.
“My immediate priority is economic efforts. Second is economic efforts. I am going to encourage both countries to lay foundations. I am not in a hurry to do the job without foundation. The job should be done slowly but steadily,” Tanhaei said.
He added: “They have to come and see for themselves how big this market is. I am also encouraging some businessmen to go to Iran to see the business atmosphere. And soon they would start to be engaged with the Iranian market.”
Asked on whether he sees any major impact once the iron-fist Duterte administration assumes presidency, Tanhaei said he remains optimistic good bilateral relations would continue, reminding that there is more than 50 years of diplomatic relation between the two countries.
Image credits: Jimbo Albano