Iran-Kazakhstan Business Forum meeting with Gholamhossein Shafei, President of the Iran Chamber, Kairat Turbayev, Minister of Kazakhstan, Ashtar Orazbay, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Iran, Mohammad Reza Karbasi, International Chamber of Commerce Director, heads and representatives of chambers of commerce Ehsati, an economically active party with Kazakhstan, members and the board of directors of the Iran-Kazakhstan Joint Chamber, left the Ministry of Jihad for Agriculture, Stripes, the Trade Development Organization, the Tehran Municipality and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Gholamhossein Shafei, President of the Iran Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that Iran and Kazakhstan have much in common in the field of civilization and culture and have long-standing relations. "Iran's relations with neighboring countries have a special priority. For us, Central Asia has an important place in Iran's foreign policy. In the last two years, despite the corona, the borders of the two countries were never closed and commercial goods were exchanged through the water borders.
He stressed: "According to the resources and capabilities of the two countries in various fields such as oil, gas and shipping in the Caspian Sea, petrochemicals, agriculture, metals, minerals and chemicals, animal husbandry, construction materials and technical services and engineering relations with the Republic of Kazakhstan." It has a special place for Iran. Especially given the active participation of Kazakhstan in global interactions, as well as its membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and the Shanghai Agreement, the potential for the development of trade relations between the two countries has been created more than before.
Emphasizing that the volume of trade relations between the two countries is not at a desirable level despite these opportunities, Shafei said: "According to statistics, the volume of trade between the two countries in 2020 was $ 235 million, which is compared to Kazakhstan's $ 85 billion in foreign trade." It is very insignificant. Therefore, it is necessary to take operational steps to develop barriers to trade relations, including facilitating the issuance of visas.
The head of the Iran Chamber assessed the Bandar Abbas-Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan corridor as an important opportunity for transit of goods and meeting the needs of countries related to this corridor and said: This corridor connects Kazakhstan and other CIS countries, the Persian Gulf and Southeast Asian countries. Therefore, the activation of this corridor will help develop the trade of countries along the route.