Iran, Tajikistan Seek Developing Trade Ties

Iranian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ehsan Khandouzi, in a meeting with Tajik Ambassador to Tehran Nizomiddin Zohidi on Sunday, stressed the need to increase bilateral trade to €500 million. Khandouzi referred to Iran’s determination for promoting relations with regional and neighboring countries and stressed the importance of planning for developing long-term cooperation in economic and technical fields, iribnews.ir reported. It was also decided in the meeting that in the upcoming meetings of the two countries’ officials, issues such as the signing of a memorandum of understanding for technical and economic cooperation will be on the agenda. Zohidi, for his part, expressed readiness to develop cooperation between the two countries.

In September, Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi visited Dushanbe on top of a high-ranking delegation to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit and held talks with his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon. First Secretary of Tajikistan Embassy in Tehran Marufjon Abdurahmonov said in October that during the recent visit of Raeisi to Tajikistan, the two sides decided to increase their bilateral trade to €500 million per year. The Tajik official added that the trade between the two countries has dropped from US$300 million to less than US$60 million in the past eight years.

Abdurahmonov said that Tehran and Dushanbe enjoy a lot of untapped potentials and bilateral cooperation can be developed. Iran-Tajikistan relations began in the early days of Tajikistan independence in 1991 and diplomatic relations prevailed, he said adding that there are currently 180 memorandums of understanding signed between Tehran and Dushanbe that have paved the ground for more cooperation. “Tajikistan has a lot of natural potentials and can be a suitable country for Iranian experts to invest,” Abdurahmonov said. The Tajik diplomat also said that his country has focused on agriculture sector since independence, and industrial development has been defined as one of its strategic goals since last year. - Iran Daily