Iran-Kazakhstan Trade Could Reach $10b
TEHRAN (Iran News) In the meeting, Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Tehran, Ventalap Onalbayeva, expressed openness to forming a joint business council with Hamedan, involving members from various economic sectors. He reported that trade between Iran and Kazakhstan in the past year amounted to $305 million, with 30% being exports to Iran and 70% to Kazakhstan. However, he emphasized that the trade potential between the two countries could reach $10 billion.
Onalbayeva highlighted that Kazakhstan operates a one-stop-shop system that can grant business registration permits within a single day. He added that Kazakhstan has an active investment office, which insures investors’ capital upon signing contracts, enabling them to export products to countries like China, the UAE, Russia, and others with ease.
The ambassador noted that Kazakhstan is currently in need of investments in the agricultural sector, adding that customs duties are waived for exports of oilseeds, dairy products, greenhouse goods, and irrigation equipment to countries such as Russia, Belarus, and Armenia. He hoped that these opportunities would be seized.
The President of the Hamedan Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture introduced the economic capacities of Hamedan across various sectors. He announced that a cooperation agreement focused on trade and cultural development between the two nations would be signed during the session, and expressed Hamedan’s readiness to establish a sister-city agreement with Kazakhstan as well.
Rahim Mortazavi, the President of the Hamedan Chamber, highlighted that the province is home to 1,860 manufacturing companies, each with unique capabilities for collaboration and export to Kazakhstan. He also mentioned that 209 types of products from Hamedan are exportable to 154 countries around the world.
Discussing Hamedan’s mining potential, Mortazavi pointed out that the province extracts 33 types of minerals from 300 active mines, which account for 3% of the country’s mineral reserves. These resources, along with the expertise of local miners, could be beneficial for Kazakhstan.
Mortazavi also noted that Hamedan is rich in 19 types of gemstones and semi-precious stones, including sapphire, which, with the right investment, could offer substantial returns.
In terms of agriculture, Mortazavi stated that Hamedan is Iran’s third-largest wheat producer and also exports high-quality raisins, garlic, potatoes, and walnuts. He noted that Iran’s trade with Kazakhstan amounts to $6 billion and emphasized that Hamedan could easily produce and supply agricultural products and industrial goods to meet Kazakhstan’s needs.
He also stressed the importance of government and private sector cooperation between the two countries to enhance trade exchanges. He underlined the need to remove barriers such as visa issues, banking challenges, and logistical problems, and called for improved facilities in rail, sea, and air transport to increase trade volume between the two nations.
The President of the Iran-Kazakhstan Joint Chamber of Commerce, Amir Abedi, remarked that Kazakhstan’s embassy, under the new government, has prioritized visits to Iranian provinces to familiarize itself with their capabilities. He noted that this visit to Hamedan was the ambassador’s first provincial trip in Iran, made possible by the readiness of the Hamedan Chamber and the ambassador’s willingness.
Abedi explained that Kazakhstan, after two decades of independence, has attracted billions of dollars in foreign investment but has not yet fully utilized the $140 billion foreign trade capacity with Iran, of which only 0.5% is currently being used.
He also highlighted Iran’s significant role in Kazakhstan’s engineering services and encouraged Hamedan’s business community to invest in Kazakhstan’s livestock, grain, irrigation equipment, fisheries, and logistics sectors.
At the end of the meeting, business leaders raised questions about how to cooperate with Kazakhstan, and the session concluded with the signing of a bilateral cooperation agreement between the Hamedan Chamber of Commerce and the Iran-Kazakhstan Joint Chamber.
