TEHRAN - The head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) said the country’s private sector is ready to pursue joint investments in Uzbekistan and called on Tashkent to implement a reciprocal visa waiver to ease travel and boost tourism between the two countries.

Speaking in a meeting with Uzbekistan’s Deputy Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Shokhrukh Gulamov, Samad Hassanzadeh said mutual visa exemption would facilitate travel for businesspeople and citizens while supporting the development of tourism.

He said the upcoming preferential trade agreement between Iran and Uzbekistan, expected to be signed next month during the joint economic commission, could raise the level of bilateral trade cooperation.

Hassanzadeh added that the current trade volume—nearly $500 million—does not reflect the true potential of the two countries. “The Iranian Chamber, as the representative of the private sector, is ready to take all necessary steps to boost trade volume,” he said.

Referring to the upcoming Iran Expo, scheduled to begin on April 28 with a trade delegation from Uzbekistan in attendance, Hassanzadeh noted Iran’s significant capacities in engineering services, petrochemicals, oil, food industries, and the automotive sector, saying these offer strong prospects for cooperation.

He emphasized that Iran’s government and private sector are committed to expanding relations with all countries, particularly neighbors. “Historical, religious, and cultural ties can pave the way for broader economic, cultural, and academic cooperation,” he said.

Hassanzadeh welcomed Uzbekistan’s move to scrap a $400 transit fee for trucks, calling it a positive step for expanding cooperation along the International North–South Transit Corridor (INSTC).

He reiterated the call for Uzbekistan to lift visa requirements for Iranian citizens, noting this would particularly support collaboration in medical tourism, healthcare services, and pharmaceutical production, where Iran has strong capacities.

Highlighting investment interests, he said Iran’s private sector is especially keen to invest in Uzbekistan’s textile and garment industries. “As the private sector’s representative, the Iranian Chamber seeks the necessary support for these investments,” he said.

Hassanzadeh concluded by expressing hope that closer cooperation between the two chambers of commerce would push bilateral trade volume to $1.0 billion.

Abdollah Mohajer Darabi, a member of the Iranian Chamber’s board of directors, also addressed the meeting, noting the long-standing trade ties between Iran and Uzbekistan. He said both countries are eager to expand cooperation and emphasized the need to eliminate existing gaps in the trade relationship.

He announced that Iran’s trade office in Tashkent would open by late May, adding that advancing trade ties without a dedicated joint financial and banking mechanism would not be possible.

Uzbek Deputy Minister Shokhrukh Gulamov praised the history of the Iranian Chamber and its nationwide network, noting the shared roots between the two nations. He voiced readiness for cooperation across all sectors identified by the Iranian side.

Gulamov said over 100 Uzbek companies, led by the country’s chamber of commerce president, would participate in the Iran Expo — a reflection of Iran’s significance for Uzbekistan.

He welcomed Iranian private sector investment and stressed the need to raise bilateral trade volume to $5.0 billion, citing the ample capacities available for cooperation between the two countries.
In mid-February, the head of the Iran-Uzbekistan Joint Chamber of Commerce announced the establishment of a permanent sales office for Iranian food industry products in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, while citing FATF-related restrictions as the biggest obstacle to trade between the two countries.

Mousa Aghaei said that the sales office was launched in cooperation with the Mazandaran Chamber of Commerce and the Iran-Uzbekistan Joint Chamber.

He noted that the initiative would significantly enhance bilateral cooperation.

Aghaei stated that the current $500 million trade volume between Iran and Uzbekistan is unsatisfactory.

He emphasized that while Uzbek citizens and government officials are eager to collaborate with Iranian businesses, challenges such as FATF-related restrictions, transportation issues, and high tariffs have hindered trade expansion.

Highlighting Iran’s advantages in engineering services, construction materials, industrial production, agricultural equipment, and knowledge-based products, Aghaei noted that a recent meeting with Uzbekistan’s ambassador to Iran included discussions on Iran’s entry into Uzbekistan’s knowledge-based market. He said the ambassador welcomed the proposal enthusiastically.

In early January, Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Tehran Fariddin Nasriev met with Ali Akbar Safaei, the former head of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO), to discuss strengthening bilateral and regional transport and transit collaboration.

The meeting emphasized facilitating trade between the two nations, the PMO portal reported.

As reported, discussions focused on streamlining multimodal transportation between Iran and Uzbekistan via Iranian ports in the country’s northern and southern regions.

The PMO expressed readiness to swiftly address issues faced by Uzbek traders and businesses along regional corridors passing through Iran. The two sides also discussed organizing reciprocal trade delegations, including visits by Uzbek technical representatives, traders, and transport companies to explore Iran’s port capacities for enhanced transit options within the framework of the International North-South Transit Corridor (INSTC).

Additionally, the meeting highlighted the importance of establishing joint regional corridors to facilitate the smooth movement of Uzbek goods to Russia and India, leveraging Iran’s port infrastructure to achieve the goals set by the presidents of both nations.

In a meeting with a joint delegation from the Ministries of Agriculture, Trade, and Investment of Uzbekistan in Tehran in early December, 2024, Iranian Minister of Agriculture Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh stated that Iran is prepared to enhance cooperation with Uzbekistan in sharing agricultural experiences and technology.

Referring to the 14th Iranian government's strategic vision to enhance relations with other countries, Nouri highlighted the initiative taken by the President of Uzbekistan to foster international relations, which has created significant opportunities for constructive cooperation between the two countries.

He expressed Iran's readiness to supply the agricultural machinery that Uzbekistan needs, emphasizing that cooperation could involve not only the direct export of products, but also the barter of goods such as potatoes and legumes.

Nouri also pointed out that Iran has a rich history of over a century in agricultural research and is prepared to share its valuable experiences with Uzbekistan.

During the meeting, Ibrohim Ergashev, head of the Plant Quarantine Service of Uzbekistan, stressed the importance of economic cooperation between the two countries, saying, "Uzbekistan is committed to developing and strengthening trade relations with Iran, and necessary planning has been undertaken in this regard."

On October 20, 2024, an official with Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) said that Iran and Uzbekistan plan to increase their annual trade exchanges to $5.0 billion and the two sides have reached a primary agreement to sign a preferential trade agreement (PTA) soon.

Akbar Godari, the head of TPO’s Central Asia, Caucasus, and Russia Office, referred to the economic agreements reached between the two countries during the visit of Uzbekistan’s Minister of Investment, Industry, and Trade to Iran, and said: “The efforts and desire of the two countries to develop trade exchanges have been formed, therefore the 16th Joint Economic Committee meeting of Iran and Uzbekistan will be hosted by Iran in March to increase trade exchanges.”

Also, discussions have been held regarding the details of a joint investment fund between the two countries that will be established shortly, Godari added.

Regarding the initial agreements for the signing of a preferential trade agreement between Iran and Uzbekistan, the official said: “Last year, Abbas Ali-Abadi, the Iranian Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade at the time, traveled to Uzbekistan and discussed with his counterpart in Uzbekistan the conclusion of a preferential trade agreement. For more than six months, the two countries discussed various aspects of the agreement including the certificate of origin document, and reviewed and resolved the challenges ahead, and now preliminary agreements have been made to sign this agreement.”

He underlined the role of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran in facilitating the trade relations between Iran and Uzbekistan, saying: “The list of the goods that are subject to preferential tariffs has been determined, and the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran is trying to increase the number of items that are subject to preferential tariffs in a short period.”

On September 19, 2024, Uzbekistan capital Tashkent hosted an Iran-Uzbekistan business forum, in which officials and businesspeople from the two sides exchanged views on ways of expanding mutual trade ties, the portal of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) reported.

Speaking at the forum, ICCIMA Head Samad Hassanzadeh called for more enhanced exchanges between Iran and Uzbekistan.

Hassanzadeh, who visited Uzbekistan on top of a business delegation, underlined the development of new strategies to strengthen economic relations as one of the goals of the business forum and emphasized the need to take serious steps in this regard from both sides.

“I would like to stress that in the new atmosphere of cooperation between the two countries, it is necessary to take serious steps to expand relations. Taking advantage of existing potential capacities and opportunities can guarantee long-term economic relations between the economic operators of Iran and Uzbekistan,” the ICCIMA head said.

Emphasizing the cultural affinities and friendship between the two nations and the interest for cooperation between the two nations and the two governments, he continued: “As in recent years, there have been three visits at the presidential levels between the two countries.”

“Currently, the establishment of the new government in Iran with the slogan of removing obstacles to foreign trade promises a new chapter in Iran's economic cooperation, especially with regional countries,” the official added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Hassanzadeh noted that achieving economic goals between the two countries requires providing the necessary infrastructure including banking and monetary, transportation, development of customs, adjustment of trade tariffs, and exchange of technical knowledge.

“Currently, our primary goal for this year is to increase our current $500 million trades to $1.0 billion, and we hope to achieve this by the end of the year,” he said, adding that “Countless economic capacities are available for the economic operators of the two countries, and this enthusiasm that is seen today for the cooperation of companies, needs to be taken very seriously by the policy makers and authorities of the two countries.”

EF/MA