Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) hosted a high-ranking Afghan delegation on Monday where the Afghan officials expressed their eagerness to make use of the potentials of the Iranian private sector.
Speaking during the meeting, the ICCIMA Vice President Payam Bagheri said that both Iran and Afghanistan enjoy many potentials for further expansion of economic and trade exchanges.
He said that the Iran Chamber of Commerce is ready to introduce the areas where the two countries can cooperate.
Urging the need for both governments to facilitate economic and trade exchanges between the two nations, he said that the banking system has to be capable of establishing financial relations.
In the meantime, Afghanistan’s acting minister of commerce Haji Nooruddin Azizi said that his country has been focusing on developing its mines.
He said that although there are many proposals for investments in Afghanistan from different countries, Kabul insists on cooperation with the Iranian companies as many Afghan mines are located near the joint border with Iran.
The Afghan minister also underlined the potentials for partnership in other areas such as agriculture, electricity, water and pharmaceuticals in Afghanistan.
He called for further activation of bordering provinces in trade activities between Iran and Afghanistan which he said would be a major step in materializing the $10 billion target for bilateral trade.
Stressing the need for “joint exports”, the Afghan minister pressed for establishment of joint industrial towns with Iran and said: “Afghanistan has a suitable workforce and Iran has electricity and gas at a reasonable price, and we can create an industrial revolution in the region.”
“Although our market is small for the Iranian products, but due to transit routes to other countries including Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, exporting through Afghanistan will be cost-effective for Iran.”
