TEHRAN - The Secretary of the Iranian Free Zones High Council has said the country is negotiating with Syria and Iraq for the establishment of a trilateral joint free zone, IRNA reported.

Hojatollah Abdolmaleki said the establishment of the mentioned free zone is going to result in a jump in investment from all three parties and the Iranian Free Zones High Council is seriously pursuing the subject.

“We have held talks with officials of Iraq and Syria to establish the joint free zone, and the negotiating parties have expressed their agreement in this regard, and we are waiting for a tripartite meeting,” he said.

The establishment of this joint free zone will benefit all three countries and make Iran's access to the Mediterranean region very easy, the official added.

Abdolmaleki further noted that the Islamic Republic is negotiating with 21 different countries to establish joint free zones, with six of which agreement documents have also been signed.

Back in February, Abdolmaleki said neighboring countries are the priority for the establishment of joint free zones.

A new generation of free zones is being formed in the world which is based on international cooperation, he said, 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.”

 “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 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/