The capital Tashkent’s International Business Center has played host to the regular Uzbek-Iranian Intergovernmental Commission for Trade-Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation.

The capital Tashkent’s International Business Center has played host to the regular Uzbek-Iranian Intergovernmental Commission for Trade-Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation.

The occasion was attended by heads of ministries and other government agencies, companies and corporations of the two countries responsible for such spheres as foreign economic relations, commerce, investments, banking and finance, oil and gas, chemical and food industries, agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing of construction materials, textiles, science and technologies, transport and transport communications, customs, tourism, electrotechnical sector and other areas.

Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Cochairman of the commission Elyor Ganiev stressed in particular that the cooperation between Uzbekistan and Iran has been advancing consistently along many dimensions, including the trade-economic and scientific-technological realms.

An agreement and normative base is established for the further development of mutual trade-economic interaction between our two countries. Deals are functioning on trade-economic cooperation, reciprocal encouragement and protection of investments, avoidance of double taxation, mutual commerce preferences, partnership in the sphere of railway transportation.

Both countries wield a tremendous potential in the development of trade-economic ties. In 2014, the volumes of trade turnover reached 374.9 million U.S. dollars, while in the first quarter of this year it exceeded 140.9 million dollars. Around 120 joint ventures operate in Uzbekistan that were set up with the participation of Iranian capital, and 8 leading companies of that country have opened their representative offices in our country.

A promising direction of the bilateral cooperation is the transport and communication sector. A bright example of that is the Treaty on the Establishment of Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Oman Railway Corridor, signed in 2011. It was noted at the session that the project is designed to facilitate further expansion of mutually advantageous trade-economic bonds among the countries of Central Asia, Middle and Near East.

“Iran attaches a great significance to the development of cooperation with Uzbekistan,” said the Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade of Iran – Cochairman of the commission Muhammedrezo Nematzadeh. “Such meetings serve for the further enhancement of the scales of partnership. By making an effective use of the available opportunities, we intend to advance our relations with Uzbekistan even more energetically in economy, manufacturing industry, technical and technological sector, agriculture, transport and transport communications, freight shipping, pharmaceuticals.”

A particular emphasis during the negotiations was placed on the elaboration and implementation of joint projects.

Later the day, business circles of Uzbekistan and Iran got together at a forum. They exchanged views on the economic capacities and potential of the two nations.