Minister: Uzbekistan is Iran’s link to Central Asia

Tehran, IRNA – Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade Mohammad Atabak has described Uzbekistan as a link to Central Asia.

Speaking in a meeting with Iranian businessmen in Iran’s Embassy in Tashkent, Atabak said the volume of exchanges between Iran and Uzbekistan has experienced a 58% growth in the current year.

He also reviewed the issues of the Iranian businessmen.

The recent efforts have led to an increase in trade interactions, he said, urging the removal of some obstacles, especially in the field of rail and road transportation, solving customs issues, and signing a preferential trade agreement with Uzbekistan to create a significant surge in the two countries’ relations.

A group of managers from large Iranian companies, lawmakers, Head of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran, Chairman of the Board of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), and officials from the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade are accompanying Atabak in this trip.

Atabak is in Tashkent to negotiate with high-ranking Uzbek officials, including the prime minister and minister of Economy and finance and minister of Investment, Industry and Trade, on reaching new tariff agreements, removing customs obstacles, and facilitating trade relations.