Iran, Tajikistan weigh plans to meet $500 million trade target

High-ranking delegations from Iran and Tajikistan, chaired by the presidents, discussed the ways to set a target to increase the value of annual bilateral trade exchanges to $500 million.

According to Tasnim news agency, Iran's President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi and his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon co-chaired a meeting of high-ranking delegations of the two countries in Dushanbe on Saturday morning.

In the gathering, the Tajik leader pointed to 160 cooperation agreements that the two countries have signed in the past years, bemoaning the fact that the volume of bilateral trade exchanges has decreased to $57 million.

Highlighting the capacities available in Tajikistan and Iran and stressing the need for the continuation of contacts and bilateral meetings, President Rahmon said the two nations can set a $500 million trade target.

He also expressed hope for the immediate finalization of a road map to the expansion of bilateral relations, saying the formation of an investment council and joint expert institutions will help achieve the goals of the road map.

Pointing to the perfect position and the great capacities of the Iranian ports of Chabahar and Bandar Abbas, the Tajik leader said his country is interested in using those two Iranian ports for rail and land transportation.

Rahmon also called for the launch of regular direct flights between Tajikistan and Iran, the participation of Iran in the oil and gas exploration projects in Tajikistan, and the enhancement of scientific and cultural cooperation between the two states.

For his part, President Raeisi welcomed his Tajik president’s proposal for a hike in the volume of bilateral trade and for the transfer of the Iranian private sector’s technical and engineering experiences to the Central Asian country.

He also agreed that Tehran and Dushanbe should set up a task force to pave the way for the implementation of the previous agreements.

ME