The call was made by Samad Hassanzadeh, president of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, during a meeting with Uzbekistan’s ambassador to Tehran on Saturday to discuss preparations for an Iran-Uzbekistan business forum and ways to strengthen bilateral economic relations. Hassanzadeh said Iran had unilaterally abolished visa requirements for Uzbek citizens and expressed hope that the Uzbek government would implement a similar measure for Iranians, allowing businesspeople to travel to Uzbekistan more easily. He said the current level of economic exchanges between Iran and Uzbekistan was not satisfactory and called for joint efforts to expand trade. The two countries have set a target of increasing bilateral trade to $2 billion by 2027 under an agreement to strengthen broad cooperation. Hassanzadeh also called on Uzbekistan to facilitate road transportation and accelerate the transit of Iranian goods through its territory, saying improvements in transport could contribute to expanding trade. Uzbek Ambassador Fariddin Nasriev said reaching the $2 billion trade target required planning and practical measures by both sides. He said the number of Uzbek transit trucks crossing Iran last year was lower than the number of Iranian trucks using routes through Uzbekistan, attributing the imbalance in part to high Iranian tariffs and calling for their reduction. Nasriev also expressed Uzbekistan’s readiness to purchase Iranian oil and petroleum products and said there were opportunities for Iran to export cotton fibre, yarn and fabric to Uzbekistan. The ambassador added that Uzbekistan was prepared to provide land in its free trade zones to Iranian economic operators seeking to invest in the country.
