TEHRAN – An exhibition of Iranian producers and industrialists’ achievements was held in Uzbekistan’s capital city Tashkent during May 9-11, IRNA reported.

The opening ceremony of the exhibition was attended by officials from the two countries, including Iranian Ambassador to Tashkent Hamid Nayyerabadi, and Chairman of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan Davron Abdujalolovich Vakhabov.

Speaking at the ceremony, Nayyerabadi mentioned the upward trend of the trade between Iran and Uzbekistan and noted that the volume of trade between the two countries increased by 97 percent to $503 million in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20).

He stressed that despite significant growth, this figure is still not commensurate with the two countries’ existing capacities, stating that the governments of Iran and Uzbekistan are determined to increase the trade relations between the two countries to one billion dollars in the short term.

According to the official, realization of the mentioned goal requires taking serious steps to facilitate trade relations between the two sides.

“Various measures are underway in this regard, the most important of which is the preparation and signing of the document on the expansion of bilateral relations to be signed by the presidents of the two countries back in September 2021 in Samarkand,” he added.

Nayyerabadi further underlined promoting interactions between the private sectors of the two countries as the next step in the development of trade between Iran and Uzbekistan and continued: "Holding the special exhibition of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Uzbekistan is a step towards this purpose and is aimed at introducing Iran’s capabilities and capacities."

Further in the ceremony, Vakhabov for his part noted that Uzbek businessmen and traders have been waiting for this exhibition for a long time, saying: "There are many opportunities in developing trade and economic relations between Iran and Uzbekistan."

“Iran has significant capabilities in the field of industrial production, and it is possible that with the joint production of such products in Uzbekistan, they can be exported to third countries,” he said.

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Photo: Iranian Ambassador to Tashkent Hamid Nayyerabadi (1st R) speaks to an exhibitor.