ASTANA (TCA) — The first meeting of the Kazakhstan-Iran Business Council was held as part of the Kazakhstan-Iran business forum in Tehran on February 7 and 8.
The meeting resulted in the signing of the first Kazakh-Iranian contract after the lifting of international sanctions on Iran — Kazakhstan’s Meat Processing and Service company concluded a US $30 million contract on the delivery of meat products to Iran, Kazakhstan’s national managing holding Baiterek said.
During the forum, Baiterek and the National Development Fund of Iran discussed establishing a joint investment fund.
“We also discussed investments in Kazakhstan’s mining industry, as well as delivery of Kazakhstan-made locomotives to Iran,” said Kuandyk Bishimbayev, Baiterek’s chairman and a co-chairman of the Kazakhstan-Iran Business Council.
He also said that Iran plans to invest in Kazakhstan’s chemical and petrochemical industries. Iran could become a logistics base for delivery of goods from Kazakhstan, Central Asia, and China to the markets of Africa, Pakistan, and India through the Persian Gulf.
“The Business Council will be assisting in strengthening trade, investment, scientific and technical cooperation between Iran and Kazakhstan,” Bishimbayev added.
Iran’s Co-chairman of the Business Council, Amir Abedi, said the banking system of Iran is opening up for cooperation with Kazakh banks. “It is important to resolve the issue of inter-bank collaboration,” he said. “This is a must for developing trade and investment cooperation. It is also necessary to cancel the visa regime between Kazakhstan and Iran. Iran now has agreements with 190 countries on visa issuance at airports.”
