TEHRAN – During the visit of Uzbek Energy Minister Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov along with an accompanying delegation to Iran, the official met and held talks with several Iranian officials to pursue the expansion of ties between the two countries in a variety of areas.

He met with First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, Oil Minister Javad Oji, Head of the Trade Promotion Organization Mehdi Zeyghami, Transport and Urban Development Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash, and Energy Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian to name a few.

 Iran ready to export technical, and engineering services to Uzbekistan

In the meeting with Oji, the Iranian Oil Minister voiced Iran’s readiness to export technical and engineering services to Uzbekistan, Shana reported.

Oji said the Iranian companies and manufacturers are ready to participate in Uzbekistan’s oil projects.

Iran is currently cooperating with 42 countries in the oil, gas, and petrochemical sectors, said the oil minister, adding Iran’s oil industry has become self-sufficient despite unilateral U.S. sanctions and the country’s oil and gas fields are developed by domestic knowledge-based companies.

Oji said Iran is drilling oil and gas fields at a depth of 6,000 meters in the absence of foreign experts.

The Uzbek energy minister said he has closely observed Iran’s capabilities and achievements in international energy exhibitions, which displayed its modern oil and gas equipment.

He said Uzbekistan’s officials have adequate information about the Iranian companies’ great experiences in oil and gas exploration, extraction, transmission, and refining sectors, calling for Iran to share its expertise and technical know-how with his country.

Mirzamakhmudov, who visited Tehran to follow up on the agreements signed by Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi, said the Uzbek government is keen to expand relations, particularly in the oil sector, with Iran.

Iran calls for strong economic ties with Uzbekistan

In his talks with Mokhber, the Iranian side underlined the need for strengthened relations with Uzbekistan, saying political interactions remain stable with strong economic support.

Referring to the government’s policy of reaching out to neighboring countries, he said that Iran and Uzbekistan can cooperate in different industrial, energy, electricity, transportation, and knowledge-based areas.

He underlined that a preferential trade agreement can help the expansion of relations between the two countries.

The Iranian vice president also called for using national currencies in financial and banking settlements.

In the meantime, the Uzbek minister referred to an earlier meeting between the presidents of the two countries, noting that the two presidents have underlined the need for increasing the volume of bilateral trade from the current $500 million to $1 billion and then to $2 billion in the near future.

Tehran, Tashkent to sign comprehensive transportation document soon

Transport Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash, in his talks with the Uzbek delegate, emphasized the need for the formation of a joint transport committee, the drawing of a transit road map, and the preparation of a comprehensive transport document between the two countries.

Referring to various meetings between Iran and Uzbekistan officials in the field of transportation, he said: “We consider ourselves committed to implementing the memorandums signed between the two countries, including the agreement signed on the development of the East-West Corridor.”

Bazrpash also called for an increase in the number of flights between the two countries and voiced Iran’s readiness for participation in Uzbekistan’s transportation projects.

Exports to Uzbekistan up 20% in 10 months

According to TPO, the country’s export of non-oil goods to Uzbekistan registered a 20-percent hike in the 10 months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2023, to January 22, 2024).

The head of the Russia and Caucasus Office of the TPO, Akbar Godari, pointed to the visit by the Uzbek minister of energy and his accompanying delegation to Iran and expressed hope that this visit will bring about positive results for the expansion of the trade ties between the two countries.

Godari referred to the achievements of a visit by Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mining, and Trade Abbas Aliabadi to the Republic of Uzbekistan last month and said the two sides agreed to pursue the implementation of the agreements inked between the two sides earlier.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Godari pointed to Iran’s export of products to Uzbekistan and added that various types of polymer compounds, cables, aquatics, steel profiles, etc. were exported from Iran to Uzbekistan in 2023.

In return, Iran imported cotton thread, potassium, cereals, legumes, pinto beans, and silk thread from the Republic of Uzbekistan last year, he added.

The official put the value of the trade exchanges between Iran and Uzbekistan from March 21, 2023, to January 22, 2024, at more than $370 million.

Iran exported more than $270 million of non-oil goods to Uzbekistan, showing a 20 percent growth compared to the same period a year earlier.

According to the statistics, Iran imported about $100 million of products from the Republic of Uzbekistan in this period, he added.

EF/