TEHRAN (Iran News) –Minister of Agriculture Seyed Javad Sadati Nejad in meeting with Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov called for launching daily flights between the two countries.
Sadati Nejad in the meeting emphasized resolving banking problems in short time and before opening of the bank in Kazakhstan. He also called for resolving problems in the field of transportation and said that for transportation of red meat from Kazakhstan to Iran, the launch of direct flights between the two countries is necessary.
Meanwhile prospects for expanding cooperation in the agricultural and transport and logistics sectors were discussed by Smailov and Sadati Nejad during the joint economic commission of both countries which was held in Astana.
The Prime Minister said that in January-November 2022, trade turnover between the countries increased by more than 20 percent to nearly USD 500 million. At the same time, in order to further increase the volume of mutual trade, Kazakhstan is ready to supply the Iranian market with 75 additional commodity items worth about USD 250 million.
Particularly promising is seen the increase of turnover in agricultural products, the share of which in mutual trade is almost 80%. Our countries have an opportunity to increase the turnover of agricultural products up to $1 billion, Smailov said.
In general, according to him, the Government of Kazakhstan is set to work actively to achieve the goal of increasing the total volume of trade up to $3b, set by the two countries leaders.
Smailov emphasized that one of the key areas of cooperation is also the transport and logistics sphere. In this context, the North-South corridor is of particular importance.
Adoption of joint measures on building transport capacities of this route, in particular, signing and implementation of the Road Map on the elimination of bottlenecks, can significantly increase the volume of cargo transportation in the near future, he noted.
According to him, the implementation of the road map will make it possible to increase the corridor’s traffic capacity by up to 10 million tons a year by 2025.
In his turn, Nejad noted the high productivity of the 18th meeting of the Kazakh-Iranian intergovernmental commission held the day before, following which the parties came to many mutually beneficial agreements.
In addition, he highlighted the importance of further development of the railway network and maritime infrastructure to increase trade and freight traffic, as well as stated Iran’s readiness to expand the supply of citrus products to Kazakhstan.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Integration Serik Zhumangarin, Minister of Agriculture Yerbol Karashukeyev, heads of other departments, as well as representatives of diplomatic circles and the Iranian Parliament.
