TEHRAN (Iran News) – Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade announced an agreement with Armenian officials to reduce tariffs on truck traffic in the two countries, as well as joint production of medicine and home appliances.
speaking on the sidelines of a meeting with the Armenian Minister of Economy on Friday evening, Reza Fatemi Amin, Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade, said: “We had agreements with Armenian authorities that Iranian companies active in the field of medicine and home appliances export technology, raw materials or parts to Armenia, to produce a joint product in Armenia and export it to other countries.”
Fatemi Amin added: “In the two days that we traveled to Armenia, we also had effective meetings with the officials of this country so that Iranian and Armenian companies could have joint activities in the field of production, transit, marketing and sales.”
He also stated that Iran had two agreements with Armenia regarding the transportation and transit of goods, one of which was to reduce the transit tariff for trucks in both countries in the short term and based on the amount in the long run; Iranian companies were also involved in completing road infrastructure in Armenia.
Fatemi-Amin described development of the International South-North Transport Corridor as a high priority for the Islamic Republic in boosting ties with Armenia.
“One of the four main routes of the South-North Transport Corridor passes through Armenia. The transport connectivity between Iran and Armenia should be implemented to this end,” Fatemi-Amin said during his official visit to Armenia on Thursday.
Iran has already announced its readiness to cooperate with Armenia in the construction of a new transportation route (Kajaran-Sisian road).
The 64-kilometer-long route part of Iran-Armenia-Georgia Transportation Corridor which comes as part of Iran’s bid to launch the North-South Transport Corridor.
The International North–South Transport Corridor is a 7,200-kilometer-long multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road route for moving freight between Iran, India, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Russia, Armenia, Central Asia and Europe.
The project is aimed at boosting trade connectivity among the regional, as well as ultra-regional states.
The Iranian minister of industry, mine and trade also said Tehran is ready to launch a joint venture with Yerevan to manufacture automobiles in Armenia.
“Iran Khodro Co. (IKCO) Joint venture factory manufactures 10 cars a day in Azerbaijan. We can also have a joint venture to produce cars in Armenia.”
IKCO is Iran’s leading car manufacturer and is viewed as the largest automobile producer in the Middle East and Central Asia.
The auto giant has exported over 150,000 vehicles to other countries mainly in the Middle East and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region.
In a meeting with the Armenian Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan, Fatemi-Amin touched on the economic capacities of Iran and Armenia, describing the economies of the two neighboring countries as “complementary.”
He also called for boosting trade ties between Tehran and Yerevan via both trade exchange and joint ventures.
This is the first visit to Armenia at this level by high-ranking Iranian officials since President Ebrahim Raisi took office back in August 2021.
Fatemi-Amin says his visit to Armenia is aimed at expanding bilateral trade ties via joint investments.
Iran and Armenia have many similarities due to the long-standing relations between the two countries; this positive background has been influential in various aspects of relations between the two countries, and for this reason, Armenia has a good position in relations with Iran among neighboring countries.
