Page 29 - IRANRptNov21

Iranian trade delegations visit Armenia seeking stronger ties
Iran’s parliament turns down plan to upgrade SEZ bordering Turkmenistan to FTZ
Iran cements ties with East as it becomes full member of SCO
Persian year that ended on March 20. Trade with Russia, which stood at nearly $2.61bn, accounted for 77% of the conducted commerce.
Two Iranian trade delegations have visited Armenia over the past month to explore avenues of mutual cooperation in various areas including plastic, polymers, agriculture, and foodstuff with Armenian counterparts, Iran’s commercial attaché in Yerevan announced.
“During their visit, the delegations examined the export potentials and barriers to trade cooperation between the two countries,” IRNA quoted Akbar Godari as saying on October 22.
According to the official, one of the mentioned delegations was comprised of businessmen and traders active in the polymer and plastics industry, while the other one was mainly focused on agriculture and foodstuff areas.
During their visit, the polymer and plastics delegation met with the Iranian Ambassador to Yerevan, Abbas Badakhshan Zohuri, to discuss geopolitical issues, the importance of the Armenian market, the country’s trade-related laws and regulations, as well as issues related to mutual coproduction, Godari said. The agriculture and foodstuff delegation also met with the Iranian ambassador in Yerevan and also held talks with Yarijanian.
During their visit, they also visited some of Armenia’s major markets and held meetings with their Armenian counterparts.
Earlier, Yarijanian had said that Iran-Armenia trade has fluctuated up to $500mn in recent years.
“By launching the Meghri free zone in Armenia, next to the Aras free zone in Iran, the volume of exchanges between the two countries can be increased,” he stressed.
According to the official, the trade between the two countries can be increased to over $1.2mn in less than a year.
Iran’s parliament (the Majlis) has declined to back a bill that would turn Sarakhs Special Economic Zone (SEZ) bordering Turkmenistan into a Free Trade Zone (FTZ), IRNA has reported.
Sarakhs SEZ, located 150 kilometres east of Mashhad and 15 km from Sarakhs, is the second-largest SEZ in Iran and a gateway to Central Asian countries by rail, road and air. It is the main destination point for goods flowing to Turkmenistan and onwards to Uzbekistan, given rail infrastructure upgrades. The rejected bill now returns to the parliament’s economic commission for further consideration. MPs said the draft legislation was not satisfactory when it comes to the development of Khorasan region.
Ehsan Ghazizadeh Hashemi, an MP representing an area in the vicinity of Sarakhs SEZ, was cited as saying: “"We are seriously pursuing the issue and this bill, which was restored by the Guardian Council, will be sent to the parliament again following its return to the Economic Commission where it will be reviewed."
The lawmaker said that transforming the zone into a full-fledged FTZ would radically transform the economic fortunes of the remote region and bring about incentives for businesses to generate commerce in the border area.
Russia, China and the other members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) wasted no time in granting Iran de facto full membership of the Eurasian political, economic and security body on September 17.
Prior to the annual SCO summit, this year held in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe, there was speculation that granting the membership could prove a long-winded process, but Tehran was quick to step forward with a resounding
29 IRAN Country Report November 2021 www.intellinews.com