Official: Iran-Tajikistan Trade On Rise

The current economic relations between Iran and Tajikistan are more satisfactory than before, and bilateral trade exchanges are on the rise. Making the statement during an exclusive interview with Iran daily, Mohammad-Kazem Shirdel, the vice president of Iran-Tajikistan Chamber of Commerce, added that Dushanbe’s political problem with Ashgabat caused Turkmenistan to close all its borders with Turkmenistan, making our exports through the Turkmen border impossible. He, however, said, “But it is for several months now that the problems between the have been resolved and the direct shipment of Iranian goods to Tajikistan can be done.”

On the other hand, Shirdel continued, there were some political misunderstandings between Tehran and Dushanbe, which have been resolved in recent months, especially after the recent visit of President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi to Tajikistan. He noted that in addition to political issues, US unilateral sanctions against Iran further hampered trade between the two Asian countries, causing annual Iranian exports to Tajikistan to fall to $78 million in 2018, from $263 million in 2012.

In May 2018, then-President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, signed between Iran and the P5+1 in July 2015, and re-imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran. “As we have seen in recent months, the demand for exporting wagons to Tajikistan has increased. The demand has increased by about 50% compared to before,” he noted.
Referring to the signing of several memorandums of understanding (MoUs) in the fields of construction of dams and power plants during Raeisi’s visit to Tajikistan, he said that some Tajik officials will travel to Iran in coming days to study the ways for removing barriers. “We had meetings in Iran on trade and economic barriers in Tajikistan and agreed to continue talks with the Tajik side,” he said.
“Iran has called for facilitating the process, registering companies and issuing visas to enter the country. The country also seeks a reduction of customs tariffs on its goods entering Tajikistan,” Shirdel said.

Shifting to the cultural commonalities of the two countries, he stated, “The people of Tajikistan, due to their common culture and language with ours and their great interest in the Persian language, show a great desire to buy Iranian goods.” Shirdel stressed the need to identify the Tajik market for exports, and said, “This requires the presence of an economic adviser at the embassy to help traders identify the market and resolve problems. The Iranian commercial attaché is currently working seriously in Tajikistan but strengthening of Iran’s economic team is needed.” According to Shirdel, Tajikistan is developing in the fields of industry, construction and IT, and the country is in dire need of Iranian construction equipment and materials, and techno-engineering services. - Iran Daily