TEHRAN - Kazakh Transport and Communications Minister Askar Zhumagaliyev has expressed hope that Kazakhstan’s trade with Iran will soon reach $5 billion per annum.

 

He made the remarks in Astana on Wednesday at a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi held on the sidelines of the 12th meeting of the Iran-Kazakhstan joint economic commission.

 

Salehi announced that Iranian companies are ready to expand activities in Kazakhstan in the transportation, oil, and gas sectors, the IRNA news agency reported.

 

In October 2011, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov and called for closer cooperation and more consultations between Tehran and Astana. 

 

During the meeting, President Ahmadinejad praised the friendly relations between Iran and Kazakhstan and expressed hope that the value of bilateral trade would increase to around $5 billion annually in the near future from the current figure of $1.2 billion.