Trend: Conferring with the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the sidelines of the 1st OIC Summit on Science and Technology, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani touched upon the trade ties between the two countries, expressed his interest in widening mutual trade ties, and said Iran welcomes Uzbek investors in the Islamic Republic.
“Iran and Uzbekistan have deep cultural and historical ties. Iran had already pursued many economic projects in Uzbekistan,” Sohail Mahmood, an independent global affairs analyst, told Trend. “In the past, the Iranian-Uzbek trade turnover reached different successful levels. For instance, in 2008 the trade turnover between the countries exceeded $600 million, which is a quite good result within the regional cooperation.”
He added that Iran and Uzbekistan had previously worked on overland links and had agreed to develop cooperation in transport, among other sectors.
“There are many benefits for Uzbekistan for exporting goods through Iran and Persian Gulf as it is the shortest trade route. Alternative options for Uzbekistan will be costlier as they would entail greater distances,” said Mahmood.
Uzbekistan’s trade turnover with Iran in the first half of 2017 was $166.3 million. This indicator is not high compared to the results of previous years, but the recent talks on further expansion of the trade cooperation between the presidents of the two countries illustrates mutual intention to increase the number of economic deals.
© Content from this site must be hyperlinked when used