Mashhad Has Capacity To Become Trade Center Of Precious Stones: Official

Mashhad, Aug 20, IRNA – Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi province, boasts of the capacity to transform into the biggest precious stones trade center in the country, said a member of National Committee on Compiling Precious and Semi-Precious Stones Standards in the country. Talking to IRNA Monday, Mohammad Javad Pishbin added that Mahshad hosts millions of Iranian and foreign tourists each year and sometimes foreign holidaymakers carry precious and semi-precious stones into the city. Therefore, the city can serve as an exchange center for import and export of the goods, he said. Currently, over 80 percent of precious stones are imported to the city illegally, he said, noting that Mashhad Customs Department should handle the import and export of the precious stones and jewelry. Mines of precious and semi-precious stones are among the geo-tourism attractions of the province, Pishbin said, noting that turquoise mine in Neyshabour is a major center in the field of geo-tourism./end