Page 32 - IRANRptJun22

Presidents of Iran, Turkmenistan discuss boosting trade
Iran, Uzbekistan sign wide ranging memorandum on economic cooperation
trade share with Russia as a result of the Ukraine fallout, ultimately replacing much European trade with the Russians, the official added. However, Iran, given its the proximity to Russia, and its great array of products, including fresh produce like fruit and vegetables, stood to grow its own share of trade with Russia considerably, he also noted.
In February, chairman of the Iran-Russia Parliamentary Friendship Group, Ebrahim Rezaei, said Tehran and Moscow were set on reducing and ultimately eliminating the use of the US dollar in their trading.
"In the monetary and banking sector, Iran and Russia have agreed to take positive steps to move away from the US dollar as the dominant currency in bilateral trade, especially in the transport sector," Rezaei said.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi discussed developing and broadening trade ties with recently installed Turkmen counterpart Serdar Berdimuhamedov on May 3.
Current Iran-Turkmenistan trade stands at around $1bn, having grown 84% in 2021 as coronavirus pandemic restrictions eased.
Turkmenistan’s Caspian Sea port of Turkmenbashi provides access to the emerging International North South Trade Corridor (INSTC), which is developing transit routes running all the way from Finland to India, via Iran. Berdimuhamedov said that activating the joint economic cooperation commission between Iran and Turkmenistan would help achieve trade goals.
Iran and Uzbekistan have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on economic cooperation. It ranges across joint investments, customs, free economic zones, transportation, energy, science and technology, health, the cultural sector and tourism.
It was signed during a meeting of the two countries’ joint economic committee in Tehran last week.
Double-landlocked Uzbekistan hopes to establish efficient transit routes through to Iran’s sole oceanic port, Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman, which gives direct access to the Indian Ocean.
Trade between Iran and Uzbekistan stands at less than $500mn per annum. The presidents of the two countries have anticipated that it might soon double if US sanctions applied to Iran were removed.
The volume of Iranian exports transited by rail northwards into Central Asia via Iran’s Sarakhs border point with Turkmenistan increased by 73% y/y in the first 10 months of the current Persian calendar year (March-January), IRNA reported on January 31.
Around one third of the volume was made up of cement consignments. In terms of destination, 41% of the cargo was Uzbekistan-bound and 37% Turkmenistan-bound.
5.3 FDI
Iran FDI 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
FDI net inflows (BoP) (USD bn)
4.662 3.05 2.105 2.05 3.372 5.019 2.373 1.508
FDI net inflows (% of GDP)
0.778 0.653 0.487 0.533 0.807 1.127 0.523 0.2
FDI net outflows (% of GDP)
0.226 0.04 0.001 0.031 0.025 0.017 0.016
source: World Bank, CEIC
32 IRAN Country Report June 2022 www.intellinews.com