President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) has called for more enhanced exchanges between Iran and Uzbekistan.
Samad Hassanzadeh, who is on a visit to Uzbekistan, made the remarks in a meeting on Friday with Tashkent mayor Shavkat Umurzakov.
During the meeting, the two sides stressed that the trade ties between Iran and Uzbekistan is too low compared to the huge potentials of the two countries.
The Iran Chamber of Commerce president said that Iran exports an annual $2 billion worth of food abroad and also exports agricultural equipment, including tractors, to other countries.
He also referred to Iran’s good potentials in providing techno-engineering services and petrochemicals, construction of power plants, roads and bridges which he believed can also be used in economic cooperation with Uzbekistan.
Hassanzadeh added that Iran has invested some $4 billion in power plants and road building projects of Sri Lanka and Tajikistan.
He also said that Iran enjoys good potentials in the area of providing urban infrastructure and waste management which could be used for connections between the municipalities of Tehran and Tashkent.
Tashkent mayor, for his part, said that the ground is prepared for further cooperation between Iran and Uzbekistan’s capital.
Umurzakov referred to a new directive issued by Uzbekistan’s president, noting that new steps can be taken for cooperation with Iranian businesspeople.
Noting that Uzbekistan is the most industrialized country in the Central Asia region, he said that the country can serve as a gateway into this region for Iran.
He added that the trade exchanges between Iran and the city of Tashkent was reported at $100 million which he believed is too insignificant. The Tashkent mayor put his country’s GDP at $100 billion, noting that given Iran’s potentials, bilateral exchanges between the two countries have to further increase.