TEHRAN – Uzbekistan has reached an agreement with Iran for transiting agricultural products and minerals to India through Iran’s Chabahar Port, Tasnim news agency reported, quoting the board chairman of Chabahar Free Trade–Industrial Zone Organization as saying on Monday.

According to Abdolrahim Kordi, the agreement was made during the Iran-Uzbekistan’s 13th Joint Economic Committee meeting in Tashkent in mid-December.

“We reached an agreement with Uzbekistan’s Navoi Free Trade Zone for cooperation in transiting agricultural products and minerals,” he said.

“In the Iran-Uzbekistan Cooperation Document [which was signed in the end of the 13th committee meeting] three specific clauses were dedicated to cooperation between free zones, development of logistic hubs and joint ventures,” Kordi added.

According to the official, an Uzbek delegation is set to visit Chabahar Port in southern Iran in early 2020 for further exploring cooperation opportunities.

Iran-Uzbekistan’s 13th Joint Economic Committee meeting was held on December 12 in Tashkent.

The meeting was chaired by Iranian Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Reza Rahmani and Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Elyor Ganiyevand, and representatives of several renowned companies from both sides attended the event.

Speaking in the meeting, the Iranian minister pointed to the presence of 50 Iranian companies in the meeting and holding mutual trade conferences as well as Iran’s exclusive exhibition in Tashkent as indications of the importance that Iran puts on mutual trade and economic collaboration with Uzbekistan.

The official expressed hope that holding such committee meetings would help the two sides to take major steps for boosting collaboration between the two countries' private sectors.

EF/MA