Mr. Orazbay on Wednesday met the chairman of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce Mr. Gholam-Hossein Shafei and during the meeting both sides explored ways for improving economic relations between both countries.

IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

Orazbay who has started his mission in Tehran for almost three months said that there are huge potentials in both countries for expanding economic relations.

Both sides in the meeting pointed to the hurdles in way of improving bilateral economic relations and factors which hinder improvement of ties.

Orazbay added that since his arrival in Iran, he has visited some provinces of Iran in order to get familiar with the capabilities and capacities of those provinces for cooperation.

He reiterated that the new Kazakh government’s policy is to improve its economic activities and it is the major mission of Kazakh embassies worldwide. He noted that his country is eager to expand his economic cooperation with Iran and efforts are underway to find ways for materializing the goal.

The Kazakh diplomat also asserted that several big Iranian companies are active in Kazakhstan and they have had major investments. He added that some Kazakh companies have also invested in Iran and fortunately they are continuing their activities in Iran. He pointed to a Kazakh company which is active in mineral field in Iran’s Kurdestan province as the company is to have more $70m investments in the near future.

He underscored that one thing which is important in the current condition is that both countries should know each other well and get familiar with their capabilities for cooperation.

He further added that following the meeting of presidents of booth countries, Kazakhstan is to invest in Iran’s Amirabad Port in north and Shahid Rajaee Port, adding that he has recently visited both ports. He reiterated that Iranian officials are to allocate some plot of land and Kazakhs will start investment there and launch terminals for easing trade between both states.

He pointed to the amicable relation of both countries, adding that the relation was intact even during the sanctions era, so there is no concern about strengthening the ties.

Orazbay also pointed to the launch of direct flight between Almaty and Tehran and called it a key move for expanding relations. He noted that two Kazakh trade delegations are to visit Tehran soon, urging Iran’s Chamber of Commerce to pave the ground for presence of Iranian companies in Kazakhstan for work and investment.

Mr. Shafei, for his part, said that the chamber welcomes any forum or conference because it believes expansion of bilateral economic cooperation will be possible if both sides know potentials of the other side and this familiarity and awareness can be reached through conferences and meetings.

He added that expansion of economic relations are the major factor behind sustainable political relations.

He also called for signing a preferential trade agreement, adding that its signature will boost the trade volume between both states.

He noted that there are several grounds where both countries can cooperate together.