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News ID: 84992
Publish Date : 18 November 2020 - 21:48

Uzbekistan, Iran Set to Establish Joint Trade Committee

TEHRAN (MNA) – Head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Gholam-Hossein Shafeie and the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan Ikramov Adkham Ilkhamovich in a video conference on Wednesday signed an MoU to establish the joint trade committee of the two sides.
Shafeie and Ilkhamovich introduced the cooperation capacities of their countries to each other.
Emphasizing that strengthening economic cooperation and increasing trade with neighboring countries is one of the most important priorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Shafeie stressed that Uzbekistan is of high importance to Iran due to its cultural, historical, economic, and geographical commonalities.
He named Iran as "Uzbekistan’s link to the world” due to Iran’s strategic location and access to the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.
He highlighted the role of Iran in supplying the required energy of the regional countries as well as its strategic transit location in the region, saying that "Iran’s special position in the region, both in terms of security and geopolitics, has provided foreign investors with a stable future prospect.”
However, he noted that "Without removing banking barriers and problems, reducing customs tariffs, reducing transportation costs and providing the necessary facilities in the field of rail transport and increasing active wagons between the two countries, it will not be possible to increase the volume of trade.”
"Although the two countries’ trade volume has increased from $ 186 million in 2018 to $ 411 million in 2019, a comparison of the two countries’ capabilities shows the need for more efforts to remove existing barriers,” he added.
The Iranian private sector official also announced the ICCIMA’s full readiness for the development of relations between the two countries, especially by strengthening provincial cooperation.