Iran’s Sixth Exclusive Trade Exhibition, also known as IR.EXPO HERAT, is scheduled to be held in Afghanistan’s Herat Province from Jan. 19 to 22.
The event has been organized in collaboration with Trade Promotion Organization of Iran and Khorasan Razavi Province’s Governorate.
Business owners and traders active in the fields of technical and engineering services, industrial machinery and equipment, construction material, road construction, water and electricity, energy, telecommunications, printing and packaging industries, agricultural machinery, foodstuff, handwoven and machine-made carpets, textile industry, home appliances, medical equipment and health products and cultural services can participate in the exhibition.
All health protocols to prevent the spread of Covid-19 will be observed during the event, the news portal of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture reported.
Economic players willing to participate in the exhibition may visit Mccima.com for more information.
The event will be followed by another expo in Afghanistan’s capital.
Iran’s 14th Exclusive Trade Exhibition in Kabul, also known as Iran Solo Exhibition 2021, is scheduled to be held in Kabul from Feb. 9-12.
The event will be held after nearly a one-year hiatus, according to the head of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran.
“Iran’s exports to Afghanistan tops $3 billion per year and by expanding the goods in our export list, the figure will hopefuly rise to more than $5 billion by the end of next [Iranian] year [March 20, 2022],” Hamid Zadboum was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
The official noted that the Kabul exhibition, which will be held after almost a year due to complications caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, provides a fertile ground for Iranian businesspeople to reconnect with old customers and find new ones as well.
TPO will provide part of the expenses of participating in the exhibition for Iranian businesses and traders as part of its export incentive policies.
Rail Connection to Boost Trade Ties
Iran exported $1.2 billion worth of non-oil goods to Afghanistan during the first eight months of the current fiscal year (March 20-Nov. 20).
Iron and steel bars had a major share of exported products with 177,700 tons worth $70 million, Fars News Agency reported.
Iran also exported 798,100 tons of cement worth $21.4 million to the neighboring country during the period.
Afghanistan received the first cargo of Iran's export goods, 400 tons of cement, through the newly-launched Khaf-Herat railroad in early December.
The trial shipment was transferred from Iran to Afghanistan's Herat via railroad, according to Jilani Farhad, the spokesman of Herat governor.
The railroad was officially inaugurated by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Afghan counterpart Ashraf Ghani on Dec. 10 via videoconference.
Ghani said the railroad was a critically important project, not only for Afghanistan and Iran but also for the region and beyond.
“The opening of Khaf-Herat railroad is a great step for the development and economic leap of Iran and Afghanistan,” he was quoted as saying by Ariana News.
Rouhani said that through this rail link, Afghanistan will be connected to European countries.
“With the Herat-Khaf railroad, Afghanistan will be connected to European countries and to the Chabahar railroad,” he added.
According to Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami, the 225-km-long railroad has been designed in four sections, three of which had been previously inaugurated.
Eslami added that the 85-kilometer-long Section-4, which has yet to be constructed, will continue up to Herat, the neighboring country’s third largest city, and Afghanistan has committed to construct it.
Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development Kheirollah Khademi told IRIB News that the railroad will help Afghanistan’s development, complete and expand the rail network between the Economic Cooperation Organization member states, increase transits from Central Asia to India and restore Iran’s pivotal role as the connecting link between the East and West.
When completed, he said, the railroad will be Afghanistan’s first rail link to Iran connecting the country to all of Iran’s southern ports in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.
Afghanistan’s Railway Authority said the line forms one of its most important regional connectivity projects, as it will provide the landlocked country with a link to Iranian ports and to the rail networks of Iran, Turkey and Europe.
Freight traffic is predicted to be around 2 million tons a year, with imports to include oil, construction materials and food, and exports to include grain, dried fruit, plants and medical items.
“We are counting on Khaf-Herat rail route to play a significant role in boosting interactions between Iran and Afghanistan,” says the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways, Saeed Rasouli.
Referring to the project’s economic significance, officials of Herat Chamber of Commerce and Industries have said that the implementation of the project will help further expand exports and imports between Iran and Afghanistan.
Global Significance
The Khaf railroad project will help connect Herat to the entire world and develop our export ability, said Abdul Latif Qanawizyan, the deputy head of Herat Chamber of Commerce and Industries.
The three main border gates between Iran and Afghanistan are presently all open for trade.
Milak in southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province is the main trade corridor between the two countries.
Iran recently signed a contract with Afghan Railway Company to export rails to the neighboring country.
According to the Iranian Steel Producers Association, the first contract for rail export to Afghanistan is worth $4.33 million.
Esfahan Steel Company is the first and largest constructional steel and rail producer in Iran and the biggest producer of long products in the Middle East.
Chabahar-Zahedan railroad project requires at least 50,000 tons of rail tracks, 5,000 of which are going to be supplied by ESCO.
“With an investment of 12,000 billion rials ($48 million), the 628-km-long railroad project connecting the southeastern port city of Chabahar to the eastern city of Zahedan near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan has witnessed a 48% physical progress so far,” Abbas Khatibi, the deputy head of Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company, said in November.
Track-laying of the massive project is currently underway.
