Referring to good technical and engineering cooperation between Iran and Kazakhstan on construction sector, representatives from both countries urged the need for further cooperation of the two countries in this area.
During a meeting in Tehran between President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Gholam Hossein Shafei and Khazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Trade and Integration Kairat Torebayev and his accompanying delegation, the Iranian side noted that Kazakhstan is the largest country in Central Asia, which has experienced good growth since independence.
Shafei appreciated the high level of political relations between Iran and Kazakhstan, however noting that economic relations between the two countries are lagging behind the political connections.
Kazakhstan has had a good progress in the areas of mining, agriculture, water resources, and small- and medium-sized industries, Shafei said, adding that there is significant ground for cooperation between Tehran and Nur-Sultan in these areas.
Referring to long years of his trade experience with Kazakhstan, Shafei said that the country has a high capacity for economic cooperation.
The Kazakh side, for his part, said that his country sees Iran as a strategic partner.
Noting that Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Trade and Integration aims to expand relations with regional countries, Torebayev said that Iran is one of the main target countries.
He said that the representatives of some 20 trade companies are in the Kazakh delegation all of which are willing to expand relations with their Iranian partners.
Iran can connect the Central Asia through Kazakhstan’s transportation hub, Torebayev said, adding that “we also seek to use the Iranian active port of Bandar Abbas to connect to East Asia.”
“I guarantee that we will support the Iranian traders and Iran will definitely provide the necessary support for the Kazakh traders too,” he said.