Iran-Tajikistan Chamber of Commerce Established

The founding assembly of the chamber convened on Sunday with the participation of deputy president of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, Pedram Soltani, ICCIMA Secretary-General Alireza Ashraf, ICCIMA's deputy for international affairs, Mohammad Reza Karbasi, counselor to Tajik ambassador to Tehran, Buriboev Murodjon, and representatives from Iran's Foreign Ministry and Trade Promotion Organization, ICCIMA's website reported.

Soltani referred to the many cultural shared values of Iran and Tajikistan, saying they can prepare the grounds for more developed economic ties.

"There are only a few regional countries that speak the Farsi language, but unfortunately little attention is paid to investments and development of economic ties based on this shared aspect," Financial Tribune quoted him as saying.

Soltani announced that a joint assembly of all private sector chambers that share the Farsi language will be convened in the near future. 

The assembly, he said, will be a place for participants to exchange views and come up with ways of boosting economic relations.

Referring to the establishment of the joint chamber as a positive development, the ICCIMA official invited all Tajik businesspeople and companies wishing to participate in the chamber to consult their embassy.

"Board members of joint chambers have important duties and so they must have sufficient incentives to develop economic ties," Soltani said, adding that joint chambers can always count on ICCIMA.

Karbasi said there is vast potential for developed cooperation in the mining sector as well as in technical and engineering areas.

According to ICCIMA's deputy for international affairs, Iran-Tajikistan trade was on the rise until 2014, when it reached a high of about $500 million.

"But it has declined in the years since, prompting the establishment of the joint chamber with the aim of surpassing the previous all-time high," he said.

Murodjon supported the establishment of the chamber as an indication of Iran's will to boost bilateral ties.

The counselor to the Tajik ambassador in Tehran referred to the multiple visits made by businesspeople of both countries, saying "they will play an important part in evaluating the state of bilateral relations between Iran and Tajikistan and moving toward alleviating hurdles".

Hassan Nourian, who was present as the representative of the Business Diplomacy Department of Iran's Foreign Ministry at the Sunday event, said the ministry fully supports the establishment of joint chambers of commerce.

"The establishment of the joint chamber under the current circumstances creates opportunities to identify problems and find solutions for strengthening bilateral economic ties," he said.

At the end of the session, a voting procedure was conducted to identify board members of the Iran-Tajikistan Chamber of Commerce. 

Based on the results, Abdolreza Mohammadi, Maryam Seraj Ahmadi, Mohammad Danesh Alaqeband, Alireza Sani, Hamid Babazadeh, Mohammad Hossein Roshanak and Kazem Shirdel were appointed to the board. 

Ali Mousavi and Mohammad Samadi were chosen as substitute members.