Trade co-op discussed between Iran, Armenia

Head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Gholam-Hossein Shafeie met with Armenian Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan on Monday to discuss ways of removing barriers to the expansion of economic cooperation.

In this meeting, the two sides underlined the capacities for bilateral cooperation and explored ways for removing the existing challenges and obstacles to the expansion of trade relations and increasing the volume of joint investments by the two sides’ private sectors.

Mentioning some of the problems in the field of transportation, Shafeie proposed the establishment of a joint transit and transportation company between the two countries to overcome such problems.

The official noted that joint production by the two countries would be a successful solution for removing the existing hurdles in the way of boosting trade relations between the two sides.

He further pointed to Armenia’s prominent role in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the country’s convenient access to the European market, describing the Armenian market as very valuable for the Iranian private sector’s trade and investment purposes.

“Iran and Armenia can reach an agreement in order to reduce trade costs by negotiating, exchanging trade delegations, and holding exhibitions,” Shafeie said.

Stating that the only common land border between Iran and the EAEU region is the border between Iran and Armenia, the official stated that the fields of cooperation between the two countries are very diverse.

“Iran and Armenia can cooperate in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry, processing industries, and development of relations between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).”

The Armenian minister for his part announced the dispatch of a delegation of Armenian entrepreneurs to Isfahan within the next month and proposed the dispatch of a delegation from the Iranian private sector to Armenia.

According to Kerobyan, these visits will make the two sides’ private sectors more familiar with each other and their existing capabilities.

Heading a trade delegation, Kerobyan arrived in Tehran on Friday to discuss the expansion of trade relations between the two countries.

During this visit, which was organized by the Iranian Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for boosting trade ties.

The MOU was signed by Kerobyan and the Iranian Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Alireza Razm Hosseini in Tehran on Saturday.

The Armenian minister also met with the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Abdolnaser Hemmati and discussed banking issues and ways of increasing the level of trade between the two sides.

source: TehranTimes