President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Gholam Hossein Shafei underlined the necessity for Iran and Kyrgyzstan to remove obstacles on the way of transportation cooperation.

In a meeting in Tehran on Sunday with the Head of the Kyrgyzstan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Temir Sariyev, Shafei expressed dissatisfaction with the volume of trade between Iran and Kyrgyzstan, noting that bilateral trade between the two countries accounts for an insignificant 1% of Kyrgyzstan’s foreign trade.

He said that the Iranian private sector actors are eager to do more trade with Kyrgyzstan and invest in the country.

Referring to a recent free trade agreement between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Iran Chamber of Commerce president said that once the agreement comes into effect, it will enable Iran and Kyrgyzstan to develop more enhanced cooperation.

In addition to the Western sanctions on Tehran and the problems on the way of financial problems, poor transportation is another factor hindering trade between Tehran and Bishkek, Shafei said.   

He noted that China can gain access to the Sea of Oman and Persian Gulf through Iran and Kyrgyzstan, a transit route which will benefit the two countries.

The Kyrgyzstan Chamber of Commerce chief, who is in the Iranian capital to attend the Iran Expo 2023, said in the meeting that representatives from 42 Kyrgyz companies are accompanying him in his Tehran trip who are looking for Iranian investors and customers for their products in Iran.  

Sariyev noted that the sanctions have always been a source of concern but trade will also find its way.

The construction of a railway project joining China, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Iran will be discussed in an upcoming meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), he said, adding that the railway will later join the countries to Turkey and Europe.

President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Gholam Hossein Shafei proposed forming a joint committee with Kazakhstan to facilitate transit between the two countries.

Speaking during an Iran-Kazakhstan Joint Business Forum in Tehran on Tuesday, Shafei said that Kazakhstan is a top priority of the Iranian private sector for expansion of trade ties.

The forum was participated by a top-ranking Kazakhstani delegation led by the country’s Deputy Minister of Trade and Integration Kairat Torebayev.  

Shafei said that oil and gas, shipping in the Caspian Sea, petrochemicals, agriculture, mining, construction, human and animal medicine, as well as techno-engineering services are among the main areas for expansion of cooperation between the two countries.

He expressed dissatisfaction with an annual $300 million volume of trade between Iran and Kazakhstan which he said is not compatible with the existing potentials.

The Iran Chamber of Commerce president said that Kazakhstan’s presence in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization provides a chance for further enhancement of trade with Tehran.

Shafei also highlighted the significance of a strategically significant INSTC corridor passing through Iran, noting that the corridor links Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries to the Persian Gulf and South East Asia.

“The activation of this corridor will greatly help the commercial development of the countries along the route.”

Kairat Torebayev, who headed the Kazakhstani delegation, also addressed the business forum and said that as much as 511 Iranian companies are active in Kazakhstan in different areas, including processing industries, construction, and techno-engineering.

He regretted that trade between Iran and Kazakhstan has witnessed a 43% fall in the early months of the current year (2023) which he said is mainly caused by Iran’s reluctance to buy wheat from Kazakhstan.

The official noted that the Kazakhstani companies are ready to export over 100 items worth $162 million to Iran.

Iranian exports to Turkey jumped by nearly a fourth in the year to late March, according to a senior official in the country’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO).

TPO’s head of West Asia Office Farzad Piltan said on Monday that Iranian exports to Turkey had amounted to $7.45 billion in the calendar year to March 20, up 23% from the previous calendar year.

“That made Turkey the third largest buyer of Iranian exports,” said Piltan while citing annual trade figures from the Iranian customs office.

He said that main goods and commodities exported from Iran to Turkey over the past calendar year included natural gas, aluminum, urea, polyethylene and copper products.

On imports from Turkey, Piltan said that Iran had taken delivery of nearly $6 billion worth of goods from its northwestern neighbor in the year to March, up 15% from the year before.

He said Turkey was the third largest supplier of goods and commodities to Iran in the past calendar year.

Cooking oil, over-the-road tractors for semitrailers, animal feed corn, banana and transformers were the main goods imported from Turkey to Iran over the year to late March, said the official.

On May 26-28, Tashkent will host the first luxurious international jewellery, gems and equipment exhibition “Uzbek Jewellery Fair-2023”.

“Uzbek Jewellery Fair-2023” is the first and only specialized jewellery exhibition that takes place in Uzbekistan, focused on jewellery manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, agents, distributors and so on.

The purpose of the international exhibition is to establish new intra-industry and international mutually beneficial relations, get acquainted with technological innovations and achievements of foreign companies, master the most popular trends in jewelry design, improve the quality and quantity of products.

Within the framework of the exhibition, an awards ceremony will be held by the Jewellery Industry Association of Uzbekistan to the winners of the Uzbek Jewellery Awards for their contribution to shaping the future of the country's jewellery industry.

Afghanistan is expected to form a joint chamber of commerce with Iran in the new fiscal year that started on March 21, according to Khanjan Alokozai, a board member of Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI). 

"The executive board of ACCI decided to establish a joint chamber of commerce. A commission has been appointed and it is working on the draft. It is almost completed. We proposed a temporary board," Alokozai said. 

"With the launch of this chamber, trade and economic activities will increase. The traders from your country [Afghanistan] and our traders [Iran] will be engaged in face-to-face cooperation and it will increase the level of cooperation," said Taqwa Minsion, university instructor in Iran.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Economy said the formation of the joint chamber of commerce will boost economic development.

"The formation of Iran-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce will benefit the growth of Afghanistan’s economy, and efforts will be made to improve the economic relations of Afghanistan with its neighbors," said Afghan Deputy Minister of Economy Abdul Latif Nazari.

Also, Hossein Salimi, the chairman of Iran-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce, said last June that a mirror chamber of commerce is due to open in Kabul soon and a branch of which will open in Herat simultaneously.

Afghanistan currently has joint chambers of commerce with Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

A delegation of 70 Afghan businesspersons, one of the biggest private sector delegations to Iran from the neighboring country, arrived in Tehran in February when they held B2B meetings with their Iranian counterparts.

Afghanistan with 1.58 million tons worth $792 million of exports from Iran in the first half of the Iranian calendar year (March 21-Sept. 22) was the fourth destination for Iranian commodities among neighboring countries following Iraq, the UAE and Turkey.

Afghanistan is expected to form a joint chamber of commerce with Iran in the new fiscal year that started on March 21, according to Khanjan Alokozai, a board member of Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI). 

"The executive board of ACCI decided to establish a joint chamber of commerce. A commission has been appointed and it is working on the draft. It is almost completed. We proposed a temporary board," Alokozai said. 

"With the launch of this chamber, trade and economic activities will increase. The traders from your country [Afghanistan] and our traders [Iran] will be engaged in face-to-face cooperation and it will increase the level of cooperation," said Taqwa Minsion, university instructor in Iran.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Economy said the formation of the joint chamber of commerce will boost economic development.

"The formation of Iran-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce will benefit the growth of Afghanistan’s economy, and efforts will be made to improve the economic relations of Afghanistan with its neighbors," said Afghan Deputy Minister of Economy Abdul Latif Nazari.

Also, Hossein Salimi, the chairman of Iran-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce, said last June that a mirror chamber of commerce is due to open in Kabul soon and a branch of which will open in Herat simultaneously.

Afghanistan currently has joint chambers of commerce with Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

A delegation of 70 Afghan businesspersons, one of the biggest private sector delegations to Iran from the neighboring country, arrived in Tehran in February when they held B2B meetings with their Iranian counterparts.

Afghanistan with 1.58 million tons worth $792 million of exports from Iran in the first half of the Iranian calendar year (March 21-Sept. 22) was the fourth destination for Iranian commodities among neighboring countries following Iraq, the UAE and Turkey.

Bajgiran passenger terminal reopened on Monday after a three-year shutdown, according to a local official.

Ja’far Shahamat, the director of Road Maintenance and Transportation Department of Iran’s northeastern Khorasan Razavi Province, said that the reopening of the terminal took place after an agreement between Tehran and Ashgabat to provide services to the passengers at the joint borer as they did in the pre-pandemic era.

As a result of the agreement, Turkmenistan fully reopened its border to Iranian passengers.

Shortly after the global outbreak of the coronavirus three years ago, Ashgabat one-sidedly closed Bajgiran passenger terminal operating on its joint border with Iran.  

In 2022 the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested almost US$ 900 million (€839 million) in 26 projects in Uzbekistan, making it the leading recipient of its funding in Central Asia for the third year running. Investments were made in sectors ranging from renewable energy to banking.

According to the bank, the EBRD, which became fully aligned with the Paris Agreement at the start of 2023, continued providing support for Uzbekistan’s green transition. The EBRD arranged two syndicated loans collectively worth US$ 520 million to help construct and put into operation two wind power plants with a total installed capacity of 1 GW in Bukhara region.

The Bank also organized a financing package of US$ 74 million for the development, construction and operation of a 500 MW greenfield wind power plant in Navoi region of Uzbekistan. This was the first project in Central Asia to use the Identiflight able to detect and monitor species at risk of collision and trigger an automatic curtailment of selected turbines.

Moreover, as Zsuzsanna Hargitai, EBRD Managing Director for Central Asia noted, EBRD together with the Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan has developed low-carbon development pathway for the electricity sector of Uzbekistan, which aims to decarbonize the sector by 2050.

Outside the energy sector the EBRD extended long-term sovereign loans collectively worth up to US$ 120 million for the regional utility companies responsible for solid waste management in Khorezm and Karakalpakstan. The project will contribute to Uzbekistan’s decarbonization efforts in line with the Paris Agreement and support the national solid waste management strategy.

In 2022 the EBRD’s Advice for Small Business Programme in Uzbekistan launched almost 100 advisory projects thus increasing its outreach to domestic SMEs by 50 percent. Half of them were with women entrepreneurs and over 40 percent were in rural areas.

Meanwhile, the current loan portfolio of the EBRD projects in Uzbekistan is estimated at 2.2 billion euros. Bank’s loan portfolio is calculated for the implementation of 69 projects. The major part of the investment portfolio (72 percent or 1.6 billion euros) focuses on sustainable infrastructure, 19 percent (428 million euros) – on financial institutions, and 9 percent (199 million euros) – on industry, commerce, and agribusiness.

On November 16, 2022, during a meeting with the EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted with satisfaction that over the past six years, the interaction of Uzbekistan with this authoritative financial institution has reached an unprecedented level. The Bank is one of the main partners of Uzbekistan in the implementation of important socio-economic programs.

On 16-18 May 2023, Samarkand will host the EBRD’s 32nd Annual Meeting and Business Forum.

The Annual Meeting and Business Forum offer a dynamic program of events and panel discussions attracting prominent participants from around the world, ranging from leading government officials, financial and corporate executives to entrepreneurs, civil society, and international media.

Investing in Resilience will be the overall theme of the 2023 Business Forum. Discussions will concentrate on how to help the economies where the Bank invests withstand the current geopolitical adversity. The Business Forum will offer expert discussion panels and events focusing on the macroeconomic landscape, the role of the private sector and policymakers in boosting renewables and sustainable energy, interregional connectivity, economic inclusion, food security, digitalization, and other issues.