Chairman of Iran-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce Hossein Salimi said on Friday that Iran’s trade with Afghanistan is improving since Taliban takeover in the country.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Iran Chamber newsroom, Salimi said that the Iranian trucks are commuting much more easily between Iran and Afghanistan.
In their first step, the Taliban have formed a mirror joint chamber of commerce in Afghanistan, Salimi said, noting that there was not such a chamber despite several demands by the Iranian side during the former period in the country.
He noted that despite early concerns about civil war in Afghanistan and a one-month closure of borders, the volume of bilateral trade has returned to previous levels.
The ministries of foreign affairs and industry have asked the joint chamber of commerce to further strengthen Iran’s presence in Afghanistan, Salimi said, adding, “This is our demand as well but it requires further support from the government.”
“A new group has emerged in Afghanistan and the risk of trade is still high there and we need government support.”
He expressed hope that Afghanistan will be able to overcome the problems soon so that Iran’s exports to the country will reach at least $3 billion.
Noting that Iran plans to dispatch a trade delegation to Afghanistan, and Afghanistan is due to send a delegation to Iran too, Salimi said that Iran’s priority in Afghanistan is to carry out technical and engineering project. He, however, regretted that Iran does not have a strong presence in such projects in Afghanistan.
Salimi said that Iran’s next priority in Afghanistan is to participate in excavation of the country’s rich mines.
The representative of Iranian private sector in Afghanistan referred to expectations from the joint chamber of commerce to facilitate Iran’s partnership in Afghanistan’s bridge and road construction and said, “The fact is that despite our high ability to provide technical services, the Turkish and Chinese rivals have left us behind.”
The Turks and the Chinese are quickly signing different contracts in Afghanistan, he said, adding that “while we have the upper hand in technical services, we regretfully don’t have support from the government.”