Iran linking ring between Kazakhstan, free waters

TEHRAN, Feb. 08 (MNA) – Industry minister has deemed Iran as the link between Kazakhstan and the world due to strategic location as well as proximity to the Persian Gulf waterway and the Oman See. Addressing the Iran-Kazakhstan trade and investment conference, Mohammadreza Nematzadeh said “Iran’s strategic geographical location and its connectivity with the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman has offered the country special privileges; by taking advantage of the great status, Kazakhstan could strengthen its relationship with neighboring countries and the world.” “Kazakhstan can associate with Iran through rail, shipping and road lines,” noted the official adding “a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on transfer of crude oil was signed in previous year while the project was halted due to international sanctions.” Referring to the visit of the 260-member Kazakh delegation to Tehran, Nematzadeh underlined “the huge trade delegation marks the largest group to visit Iran from the Central Asia and the outcomes of the trip would definitely boost bilateral economic ties in view of the two sides’ cultural, religious and historical background.” Industry minister noted the various MoUs signed between Iran and Afghanistan over the recent years asserting “unfortunately, the deals were not put into practice one major reason being the international sanctions which have now been removed clearing the road for deepening the ties between Tehran and Astana.” He emphasized the facilities and capacities of the two countries for bolstering trade ties; “Iran and Kazakhstan need to mutually exploit these capabilities as many Central Asian countries have set to construct harbors and ports aiming to reinvigorated relations with Iran.” “During the session with Kazakh officials, it was agreed to form two technical working groups in order to investigate the difficulties of the sealed MoUs,” he continued. Kazakhstan’s Minister of Investment and Development Asset Issekeshev, for his part, deemed Iranian partners as highly reliable and expressed intentions to develop cooperation with Iran. He stressed the need to bolster trade ties with Iran adding “Kazakhstan would issue any necessary certificate to Iranian companies in order to increase the trade turnover with Iran.” “We have assigned 30 per cent of subsidy for the return of investments,” noted the official maintaining “about 900 firms have been established in Kazakhstan through which we can escalate relations with Iran.” Touching upon the logistic issues between the two countries, Issekeshev reiterated “we need to focus all efforts on resolving logistics and transportation barriers in order to facilitate collaborations between traders and businessmen.” The Kazakh minister further pointed out his country’s plan to join the World Trade Organization concluding “we hold constructive relations with Russia and other Central Asian states which can help boost ties with Iran.”