TEHRAN - The Secretary of Iran’s Free Zones High Council Hojatollah Abdolmaleki said the country is negotiating with 21 different countries to establish joint free zones, with six of which agreement documents have also been signed.

Speaking to IRNA on Monday, Abdolmaleki said a new generation of free zones is being formed in the world which are based on international cooperation, adding: “Iran is one of the leading countries in this regard, we already have shared free zones which are formed based on international cooperation and have different models.”

The official stated that the neighboring countries are the priority for the establishment of joint free zones.

“Cooperation with Afghanistan, Pakistan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, and distant countries like China are on the agenda, and we are pursuing the creation of a network of free zones in order to form economic chains with friendly and neighboring countries in the region,” he explained.

“We had meetings and discussions with the senior officials of many of the mentioned countries, and the investors have taken measures in this field so that if we proceed according to the plan, we can achieve our goals in the atmosphere of international interactions based on the economic diplomacy, which is considered a kind of practical paradigm,” he added.

The official further noted that 10 new free zones have been established in the country, of which three are currently operational, seven will start operating in the next two months and three will be inaugurated in the next Iranian calendar year (starting on March 20).

According to Abdolmaleki, the imports of consumer goods will be limited in these new zones to guide the imports towards production and export.

EF/MA