TEHRAN - The economic adviser of the Iranian president’s special envoy in Afghanistan affairs said Iran has a 35 percent share in Afghanistan’s import market, which is a considerable figure in bilateral trade ties.

Speaking in an interview with IRNA, Mohammad-Mehdi Javanmard-Ghassab stated that Tehran and Kabul enjoy high capacities to expand bilateral trade relations, especially in the fields of technical engineering services, transportation, and transit.

The economies of Iran and Afghanistan can complement each other, he said, adding that the two countries need a long-term strategic plan to take advantage of these conditions optimally.

Turning to Iran’s 35 percent share in Afghanistan's market, Javanmard-Ghasab stressed that the country is seeking to export technology, technical know-how as well as technical and engineering services to Afghanistan.

Increasing the production of Iranian products in Afghanistan is also on the agenda, he emphasized.

According to Mohammad Ghanadzadeh, the deputy head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), the trade between Iran and Afghanistan has increased by 20 percent in the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 21).

Speaking to IRNA, Ghanadzadeh said Iran is ready to cooperate with Afghanistan in the country’s development and reconstruction projects.

Noting that Iran is Afghanistan’s top trade partner, the official put the two country’s trade in the previous Iranian calendar year at $970 million.

He said Iran and Afghanistan have previously had an annual trade of $3.0 billion, but Afghanistan's political instability, the lack of infrastructure at border crossings, and the unpreparedness of customs have hindered the development of trade between the two countries.

Stating that TPO is pursuing the signing of a preferential trade agreement with Afghanistan, the official said the negotiations in this regard are moving forward and the lists of the desired goods of the two countries, especially in the agricultural sector, have been exchanged for further investigation.

Increasing non-oil exports to the neighboring countries is one of the major plans that the Iranian government has been pursuing in recent years.

Iran shares land or water borders with 15 countries namely UAE, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Saudi Arabia.

EF/MA