Iran, Armenia to Embark on Joint Ventures

Iranian Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade hailed his visit to Armenia as constructive, saying Tehran and Yerevan agreed on launching joint ventures. “We have clinched new agreements with Armenian officials on joint production of pharmaceutical products and home appliances, based on which the raw materials or parts will be imported to Armenia. The joint products will be made in Armenia and exported to other countries,” Reza Fatemi-Amin said, reported Press TV on Saturday. He had already announced that the visit to Armenia was aimed at expanding bilateral trade ties via joint investments. The Iranian minister headed a high-ranking delegation including trade officials and CEOs of private companies. This was the first visit to Armenia by high-ranking Iranian officials since President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi took office in August 2021. Expanding trade diplomacy with regional states tops the agenda of the new Iranian administration. Fatemi-Amin has already made several trips to the Persian Gulf states of the UAE, Qatar and Oman to boost bilateral trade relations.

Facilitating bilateral trade

Fatemi-Amin also described the meetings with Armenian officials as helpful, saying they would facilitate bilateral trade between the two neighboring countries. “During the two-day visit we had helpful meetings with Armenian officials aimed at paving the way for joint activities by Iranian and Armenian companies in trade transit, marketing and sales activities,” said the Iranian minister of industry, trade and mine. Such visits are also aimed at facilitating trade by Iran’s private sector in neighboring countries and tackling issues impeding business activities. Dozens of the CEOs of Iranian private companies accompanied the Iranian delegation during the visit to Armenia.

Developing infrastructure

According to Fatemi-Amin, Iran and Armenia also agreed on launching Infrastructure projects in Armenia. “During the meetings with Armenian Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan and Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan and the Armenian deputy PM, we made preliminary agreements on a range of issues such as building dams and roads by Iranian companies in Armenia,” the Iranian Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade said.

“We agreed on building a transit road to complete the infrastructure projects in Armenia in the long run. Iranian companies will also participate in the relevant tenders,” he noted. Iran has already announced its readiness to cooperate with Armenia in the construction of a new transportation route (Kajaran-Sisian road). The 64-kilometer route is part of the Iran-Armenia-Georgia Transportation Corridor, which comes as part of Iran’s bid to launch the International North-South Transport Corridor. The INSTC is a 7,200-km multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road routes for moving freight between Iran, India, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Russia, Armenia, Central Asia and Europe. It is aimed at boosting trade connectivity among regional as well as ultra-regional states.

Tariff reduction

Iranian and Armenian officials also agreed on cutting transit tariffs as part of the joint effort to boost bilateral trade. “Regarding transit of goods, we made two short-term and long-term agreements with Armenia. We agreed to slash tariffs for transit trucks in the short term,” Fatemi-Amin said. The Republic of Armenia and the Islamic Republic of Iran share a 44-km border. The value of Iran-Armenia trade volume stood at US$304 million during the last Iranian year (March 21, 2020- March 20, 2021), with both sides planning to beef up bilateral trade. - Iran Daily