Afghan nationals accounted for half of Iran’s foreign investment in 2022 alone, stated Hassan Kazemi Qomi, the Iranian president’s special envoy for Afghanistan on Thursday.

Qomi added that Afghan nationals play a pivotal role in Iran’s economy, as half of Iran’s foreign investment comes from them, therefore the high capacity of Afghan citizens should be utilized when the country is facing difficulties in attracting foreign investment,” Khama Press News Agency reported.

The Iranian official noted that last year, the UAE expelled 700 Afghan businessmen from that country, whose capital was estimated at $30 million. 

"Unfortunately, we failed to attract this capital and encourage Afghan traders to invest in Iran,” he added.

Currently, Iran is plagued with a major challenge in attracting foreign investment. To address the issue, the Iranian government needs to come up with a comprehensive policy to ensure that Afghan business owners can legally run their businesses and other economic activities without facing hurdles. In the past, the bank accounts of Afghan citizens were blocked for vague reasons, which was a big blow to foreign investment, the news agency wrote.

The assets of Afghan businessmen and companies operating in Khorasan Razavi Province are estimated to be around $1 billion, according to an announcement of the Association of Afghan Economic Activists in the northeastern Iranian province.

To capitalize on the existing opportunity by providing work permits, visas and license to Afghan citizens, Iran can attract more foreign investors from Afghanistan, the region and beyond, the report concluded.

It added that Iran is the home of thousands of Afghan citizens, including businesspeople, students and refugees. Besides the increasing problems Afghan refugees are currently faced with, they have lived in peace and harmony for many years in Iran.

Economic Cooperation Organization Day is celebrated every year on November 28. On this day in 1992, ECO experienced a grand enlargement.

Founded as the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) in 1964 by Iran, Pakistan and Türkiye, the Forum was rechristened as the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in 1985. It became operational in January 1991, with permanent headquarters at Tehran. The Treaty of Izmir is the basic constituent document of ECO.

The vision behind establishment of ECO was to expand trade among Member States, promote favorable conditions for sustained economic growth, achieve continuous improvement in the living standards of the peoples of the region, consolidate cultural affinities and spiritual and fraternal ties that bind the people of the Member States, and contribute to the growth of world trade.

ECO, being a dynamic Organization, has expanded over the years in terms of membership and mandate. Its membership, initially limited to three, has risen to ten. ECO enlarged in the early 1990s, welcoming the historically and culturally identical states of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

ECO region is home to more than half a billion inhabitants and stretched across 8 million square kilometers of land, connecting the north to south, south and east to the west, Asia to Europe and Eurasia to the Arab World. Composed of some Caucasus, South, West and Central Asian countries, ECO is one of the oldest intergovernmental organizations in the world. ECO has all essential elements to become one of the most prosperous regions of the world with its rich human and natural resources and deep-rooted culture and traditions.

Over the past few decades, the Organization has emerged as an effective forum of economic diplomacy and multilateral activism. ECO Member States, bearing their shared cultural and historic affinities in mind, appear to be always ready, receptive and forthcoming to complement one another, intensifying their collaboration with action and result-oriented motives to achieve the perceived target of greater connectivity and integration in the region.

The year 2022 is special for ECO as it marks the 30^th Anniversary of its enlargement. In order to commemorate the 30^th Anniversary in a very special manner, ECO has planned to hold a ceremony and a Photo Exhibition at Institute for Political and International Studies, Tehran on December 11, 2022. The invitees include diplomatic corps based in Tehran, high-ranking officials of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and staff of the ECO Secretariat. H.E. Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, being Guest of Honour, will grace the ceremony.

ECO Secretariat will also issue special edition of ECO Chronicle, comprising articles of the honorable Foreign Ministers of ECO Member States, dedicated to the 30^th Anniversary of the Enlargement. Another special edition of Chronicle highlighting rich tourist destinations, especially 74 UNESCO registered World Heritage Sites in ECO countries, will also be issued.

Today, ECO is into fourth decade of its existence. It has enlarged. It has expanded. It has enhanced its scope of cooperation. It has developed a system of bodies that assist the Organization in functioning and carrying out its goals. It has established a strong network of relations with several regional and international organizations. Considering the trajectory of the evolution of the Organization and emerging regional and international scenarios, we are hopeful and motivated that in times to come, ECO would emerge as more developed, more beneficial and an effective platform for multilateral diplomacy.

Hazef Sadatnejad, the operator of a strategically important Khaf-Herat railway between Iran and Afghanistan, has said on Saturday that the two countries have agreed on the relaunch of the railway.

He said that Afghanistan has been held responsible for the damages to parts of the railway.

Amid the political changes in Afghanistan, parts of the railway as well as Rozanak station in the country were subject to robbery and underwent damages.

The first part of the railway project was inaugurated early on December 2020. This part of the railway linked Khaf in Iran to Rozanak station in Afghanistan and the rest of the railway to Herat had yet to be completed.

Sadatnejad said that Iran is ready to complete the remaining part of the railway within six months.

Khaf-Herat railway could provide landlocked Afghanistan to the high seas and other neighboring countries and is also of special significance for international transit.

L egalities for the creation of a free trade zone between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union are expected to be finalized within a month, Iranian Deputy Industries Minister Alireza Peymanpak, who is also the head of Iran's Trade Promotion Organization, said on Wednesday.

"Considering that within a month the final arrangements and formalities of Iran's presence in the EEU will be over, this can be a positive factor that will affect joint cooperation," he was quoted as saying by TASS.

According to the deputy minister, Iran is interested in creating a free economic zone in partnership with EEU and is ready to provide the infrastructure of its seaports for the implementation of relevant projects.

An interim agreement on the formation of a free trade zone between EEU and its member states (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia) and Iran was concluded on May 17, 2018, and has been in effect since Oct. 27, 2019.

TEHRAN - Iran National Polymer Industries Association (INPIA) and Turkish Plastics Industrialists' Association (Türk Plastik Sanayicileri Arashtirma Gelishtirme ve Egitim Vakfi or PAGEV) have signed a cooperation memorandum of understanding on the sidelines of the 31st International Istanbul Plastics Industry Fair (Plast Eurasia Istanbul 2022).

As reported by the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) portal, the MOU covers cooperation in various areas including holding joint events, increasing knowledge and awareness of the markets of the two countries in the field of polymer and plastic, and bilateral interaction regarding issues related to the plastic industry.

As one of the largest plastics industry fairs organized annually in Europe, Plast Eurasia Istanbul 2022 was held in Istanbul during November 22-26.

TEHRAN – Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) announced on Saturday that the imports of all commodities listed under an Iran-Pakistan preferential trade agreement have been allowed by the government.

In late November, the Iranian Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry had got the government’s approval for allowing the import of some products exclusively shipped from Pakistan under the framework of the preferential trade agreement between the two countries.

Now, Iranian importers have been allowed to register import application forms for all products that were previously on the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration's (IRICA) import ban list, provided that the source of the commodities is Pakistan.

Tehran and Islamabad have been taking new measures for broadening economic ties as the Iranian government is promoting economic diplomacy in the region.

Back in October, Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FPCCI) signed three memorandums of understanding (MOU) with the aim of expanding trade between the private sectors of the two countries.

The MOUs were signed during a visit of an Iranian private sector delegation headed by ICCIMA Head Gholam-Hossein Shafeie to the Pakistani cities of Karachi and Lahore.

Based on the signed memorandums, the two sides agreed to strengthen comprehensive cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries, to establish a joint trade council of Iran and Pakistan, and to determine a mechanism to resolve trade disputes.

During their visit to Pakistan, the Iranian delegates also attended a meeting with officials from the State Bank of Pakistan (the country’s central bank) in which the two sides discussed details of a barter trade mechanism between the two countries.

After the trip of the Iranian trade delegation to Pakistan, TPO and the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA) also signed an MOU to pursue and develop free trade with Pakistan.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, TPO Head Alireza Peyman-Pak mentioned Pakistan as one of TPO’s priority markets for enhancing the country's business plans and emphasized that establishing direct transit as well as creating a financial and banking mechanism between Karachi and Tehran are two key axes in the development of business relations with this country.

Also, TCCIMA Head Masoud Khansari, in his speech, underlined the TCCIMA plans and actions in recent years to develop the economic relations of Iranian companies with neighboring countries and expressed the chamber’s full readiness to cooperate with TPO in order to develop exports to Pakistan.

Iran private sector stresses barter trade with Pakistan

President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Gholam Hossein Shafei on Saturday underlined the significance for both Iran and Pakistan to pay due attention to barter trade and transit cooperation.

Shafei made the remarks in a meeting with Pakistani Consul General to Mashhad Muhammad Sheryar Khan.

He said that Iranian and Pakistani economies are complementary to each other and there are significant potentials which can led to a hike in bilateral transactions.

Referring to the efforts made by the Iranian government to boost trade with Pakistan over the past two years, the Iran Chamber of Commerce president said that efforts have been on the agenda in regard to preferential tariff and then moving towards free trade.

He said that there are problems on the way of implementing these plans so that economic interactions are not yet satisfactory.

Shafei noted that the two countries have been recently working on barter trade schemes with Zahedan Chamber of Commerce pursuing the issues on behalf of Iran and Quetta Chamber of Commerce being in charge of the matter on the Pakistani side.  

He also said that Iran and Pakistan face different problems in the area of transit and transportation.

Iranian truck drivers have serious problems for crossing into Pakistan, Shafei said, adding that the two countries also need to take steps to improve customs infrastructures.  

The Pakistani side, for his part, said that both Iran and Pakistan have to pay due attention to enhancement of bilateral relations.

Sheryar Khan said that the Pakistani consulate general in Mashhad stands ready to pursue the affairs.

He said that he agreed with the Iran Chamber of Commerce president that there are problems on the way of transportation, noting that the Pakistani drivers also have difficulty receiving visa for travelling to Iran.

He stressed the need for expansion of economic ties with the focus on the capacities of the two neighbors.

President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Gholam Hossein Shafei on Tuesday expressed dissatisfaction with non-implementation of the already signed agreements for expansion of trade among Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) member states.

Shafei made the remarks during a meeting in Tehran with Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Khusrav Noziri.

Shafei, who also heads ECO Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECO CCI), said that the ECO ten member countries’ trade with the world totals a roughly $930 billion while their intra-regional trade hardly reaches $70 billion.   

He argued that intra-regional problems between ECO member countries are far more than their problems with other world countries, referring, for instance, to difficult requirements for receiving business visa in some member countries.

Shafei also touched upon the problems on the way of intra-regional transportation among ECO member states which he said are hindering transportation cooperation despite the existence of agreements in this regard.

The ECO secretary general, for his part, said that in an ECO ministerial meeting in Uzbekistan in January, a final draft of Tashkent statement will be finalized which he said is related to expansion of trade, transportation and other ways of cooperation in the bloc.  

Noziri said that, as like as the Iran Chamber of Commerce president, he is not satisfied with the intra-regional trade among ECO member countries and believes that there are many potentials that have to be used.

He said that ECO has a 500 million people population which accounts for 6% of the world population while the bloc has an only 4% share of the global trade.

He added that the intra-regional trade of the ECO states accounts for as few as 7.2% of their total trade with the world.  

Noziri referred to a 2003 ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA), noting that some member states have not yet agreed with the most significant article of this agreement which is about reducing tariffs in trade with other member countries.  

He noted that the ECO members have agreed to double intra-regional trade from a current 7-8 percent of their total trade with the world to 15 percent in 2025.

Each member country has to do its share in fulfilment of the goals of the organization, Noziri said.

Not all the 10 member countries have equal capacities and Iran is expected to play a more active role in the bloc as China is playing the role of the driving force of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), he added.

 Iran’s central city of Isfahan is set to host the 8th ECO Minerals Experts Group Meeting during November 14-17, 2022, Mehr News Agency reported.

Experts from seven countries including Pakistan, Azerbaijan Republic, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Iran are to participate in the event.

The meeting aims at exchanging viewpoints of experts and managers of ECO member states and sharing new ideas and perspectives as well as solving the problems of the current geological and mineral sectors.

Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is an intergovernmental regional organization encompassing countries from Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia, West Asia and South Asia with more than 460 million inhabitants and over 8 million square kilometers connecting Russia to the Persian Gulf and China to Europe.

The overall objective of the Organization is the sustainable economic development of its Member States and the Region as a whole.