Turkmenistan’s Foreign Minister Rasit Meredow has said that his country is eager to pump more gas to Iran.

He made the remarks in Ashgabat on Saturday night while speaking at the closing ceremony of Iran-Turkmenistan Joint Cooperation Commission.

Meredow said that Iran and Turkmenistan have had good talks over the past two days.  

A gas contract was signed between Iran and Turkmenistan in 1997, the minister said, adding that Ashgabat is ready for further gas cooperation with Tehran.

Noting that a gas swap is also underway between the two neighboring countries, the Turkmen foreign minister said that Ashgabat is eager to continue and increase such cooperation with Iran.  

Also referring to electricity exchange between the two countries, Meredow said that his country is seeking to export electricity to third countries via Iranian soil.

Head of Iran-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce say Iran’s partnership in the reconstruction of Afghanistan would bring benefits to the Iranian market.

Speaking to IRNA economic correspondent on Monday, Mahmoud Siadat urged the need for Iran’s more presence in Afghanistan’s market in the wake of the US withdrawal from the country.

He referred to a recent visit to Iran by a high-ranking Afghan economic delegation which he said was of special significance with the positive changes in Afghan economic situation.

Afghanistan aims to give a boost to trade exchanges and economic relations with Iran which provides a chance for more increased investment in the country, Siadat said.

He noted that severe intervention of foreign forces and red tape in Afghanistan had made it difficult for Iranian investors to establish their foothold in the country’s economy, especially in industrial, mining and agricultural sectors.  

Siadat said that the withdrawal of foreign forces has however changed the conditions for the presence of Iranian companies in Afghanistan.

Iran is scheduled to open trade centers in Pakistan within the next few months, according to an official with Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO).

Hadi Talebian Moghaddam, the director of TPO department for South Asian Affairs, told reporters on Monday that Iran plans to promote the level of trade with Pakistan.

Noting that the current level of trade between Iran and Pakistan does not go beyond $2.5 billion, the official said that the two countries seek to increase bilateral trade to $5 billion by exercising barter trade and free trade.  

He also referred to an exhibition of Iran’s potentials for exports to Pakistan and said that the exhibition can further activate the border markets and trade centers to give a boost to trade exchanges.

The event opened in Chabahar, southeastern Iran, on November 17 and was closed on Monday (November 20). 

Vice-President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Qadir Qiafeh says the current low level of trade between ECO members does not match with the scope of this organization.

He made the remarks addressing the 5th ECO Business Forum in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Friday.

With abundant natural resources and workforce, the organization member states have to tap into the potentials and combine efforts to give a boost to intra-regional cooperation, he said.

Noting that the ECO member countries have had a $1.1 trillion trade with the world in 2022, Qiafeh said that as low as $96 billion of the sum was the share of intra-regional trade.

He also noted that this region has observed as low as 1.5% of the world’s total $1.6 trillion foreign direct investment (FDI) which does not match with the capacities and potentials of this influential part of the world.  

He called for further cooperation within the frameworks of ECO common market, implementing an agreement for facilitating visa requirements among ECO members, e-commerce, and launching a joint monetary fund for barter of goods.

The Iran Chamber of Commerce vice president underlined the need for activating ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA) which he said would pave the way for a free trade agreement within the member states in accordance with the provisions of the country’s Vision 2025.

https://www.eventseye.com/fairs/c1_trade-shows_uzbekistan.html

The economic adviser of special envoy to Iranian president in Afghanistan affairs said that Iran has a 35 percent share in Afghanistan’s import market, which is a considerable figure in bilateral trade ties.

Speaking in an interview with IRNA, Mohammad Mehdi Javanmard Ghassab stated that Tehran and Kabul enjoy high capacities to expand bilateral trade relations, especially in the fields of technical engineering services, transportation and transit.

The economies of Iran and Afghanistan can complement each other, he said, adding that the two countries need a long-term strategic plan to take advantage of these conditions optimally. 

Turning to Iran’s 35 percent share in Afghanistan's market, Javanmard Ghasab stressed that the country is seeking to export technology, technical know-how as well as technical and engineering services to Afghanistan.

Increasing the production of Iranian products in Afghanistan is also on the agenda, he emphasized. 

Head of Iran-Kazakhstan Joint Chamber of Commerce Amir Abedi has stressed the need for joint efforts by Tehran and Astana to cancel 30-day business visas.

Noting that Kazakhstan is one the top 20 trade partners of Iran, he said that easing visa requirements is one of the main measures to help boost relations between the two countries.  

Cancelling 14-day visas between Iran and Kazakhstan was one of the main demands of the private sector actors which became operational last year, Abedi said, adding that the two countries should now push for cancelling 30-day visas.

Abedi called for more investments in the ports of Astara, Caspian, Amirabad, Aktau and Kuryk, which he said would ensure further enhanced relations between the two countries in the near future.

He also referred to the eagerness of Kazakhstan to transit via Iranian southern ports across the Persian Gulf, what he believed requires further activating Iran’s bordering Inche-bron Free Zone.

A 50-member Iranian trade delegation is scheduled to visit Dushanbe, Tajikistan on November 7-12.

The visit to Tajikistan by the Iranian trade delegation will take place simultaneous with a visit to the Central Asian country by President Ebrahim Raeisi.

The dispatch of the Iranian businesspeople will be made by Iran-Tajikistan Joint Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) and the Iranian Trade Promotion Organization (TPO).

The Iranian delegation is said to be comprised of businesspeople active in the fields of construction, mining, food industry, drug and medical equipment and knowledge-based areas.

They are also going to attend a business forum of Iran and Tajikistan in Dushanbe which will be participated by senior government officials of both countries.

Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) hosted a high-ranking Afghan delegation on Monday where the Afghan officials expressed their eagerness to make use of the potentials of the Iranian private sector. 

Speaking during the meeting, the ICCIMA Vice President Payam Bagheri said that both Iran and Afghanistan enjoy many potentials for further expansion of economic and trade exchanges.

He said that the Iran Chamber of Commerce is ready to introduce the areas where the two countries can cooperate.

Urging the need for both governments to facilitate economic and trade exchanges between the two nations, he said that the banking system has to be capable of establishing financial relations.

In the meantime, Afghanistan’s acting minister of commerce Haji Nooruddin Azizi said that his country has been focusing on developing its mines.

He said that although there are many proposals for investments in Afghanistan from different countries, Kabul insists on cooperation with the Iranian companies as many Afghan mines are located near the joint border with Iran.

The Afghan minister also underlined the potentials for partnership in other areas such as agriculture, electricity, water and pharmaceuticals in Afghanistan.   

He called for further activation of bordering provinces in trade activities between Iran and Afghanistan which he said would be a major step in materializing the $10 billion target for bilateral trade.

Stressing the need for “joint exports”, the Afghan minister pressed for establishment of joint industrial towns with Iran and said: “Afghanistan has a suitable workforce and Iran has electricity and gas at a reasonable price, and we can create an industrial revolution in the region.”

“Although our market is small for the Iranian products, but due to transit routes to other countries including Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, exporting through Afghanistan will be cost-effective for Iran.”