Chambers of commerce of Iran and Ukraine signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday to expand cooperation in five key areas of mutual interest.
Agriculture, food and pharmaceuticals, aircraft and parts manufacturing, mines and mining industries, rail and road transportation, and oil, gas, energy and power plants are the five areas of cooperation covered in the MoU, IRNA reported.
Representatives from 80 Ukrainian companies in the wagon-making, tool-making, spare parts and energy industries arrived in Tehran on Sunday for a three-day visit to gauge the capacities for economic partnership with Iran.
The Ukrainian delegation attended a business conference with members of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture on Monday where they engaged in direct negotiations with their Iranian counterparts.
Chairman of Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Gennadiy Chizhikov painted a positive picture of Tehran-Kiev economic relations, saying he expects a boost in mutual annual trade from the current $1 billion to $5 billion in the near future.
Chizhikov referred to the aviation industry, industrial tools and machines, wagon-making, energy, agriculture and logistics as areas where the Ukrainian companies have high expertise.
In addition to large industries, he also called for expanding cooperation between the two countries’ small- and medium-scale enterprises.
ICCIMA Chairman Mohsen Jalalpour emphasized the need for Iran and Ukraine to expand their transport infrastructure to reduce the cost of trade between the two countries. To this end, he urged cooperation between Iranian and Ukrainian investors to form joint transportation companies.
Jalalpour called for closer cooperation between the newly-opened Iran-Ukraine Economic Council in Ukraine and its Iranian counterpart to facilitate interactions between both countries’ traders and businesspeople.
Joint investments in the areas of advanced technologies, mines and mineral industries, reducing customs tariffs on Iranian goods and facilitating visa issuance for Iranian traders were among other suggestions made by the Iranian official.
Agro Outsourcing
Expanding cooperation in the “Farming Beyond Borders” program was another issue discussed in the meeting. The program is a government project aimed at reducing water consumption and increasing food security by renting cultivable land in other countries for growing water-intensive crops.
Iran has already reached agreements with Kiev to implement the program in 8,000 hectares of Ukrainian land as of next month, according to Iranian Ambassador to Ukraine Mohammad Beheshti Monfared. “The program will ultimately expand to cover 20,000 hectares,” he added.
The Iranian envoy announced an upcoming visit by Ukraine’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade Aivaras Abromavicius to Iran in November, during which negotiations for boosting economic relations will be held at the governmental level.
Monfared also said Iran-Ukraine Economic Council will hold a meeting in Tehran in November after many years, which will be chaired by the Ukrainian Minister of Energy and Coal Mining Volodymyr Demchyshyn and the Iran’s Agricultural Jihad Minister Mahmoud Hojjati.
Visit to Qazvin, Alborz Provinces
The Ukrainian delegation headed to Qazvin on Monday afternoon and met with provincial officials to assess economic and trade capacities.
Governor of Qazvin Morteza Rouzbeh welcomed investment by Ukrainian companies and invited them to participate in the development of renewable energy projects in the province.
The official called for implementation of pilot energy projects, including establishment of solar and wind power plants in Qazvin in cooperation with Ukraine’s Donetsk Province.
Cooperation in the areas of agriculture, cultural exchange, tourism and education were among other issues discussed in the meeting.
The Ukrainian delegation also traveled to Alborz Province northwest of Tehran on Tuesday, where they visited a number of industrial and manufacturing units as well as the Materials and Energy Research Center in Meshkin-Dasht near Karaj.
A meeting between Iranian and Ukrainian industrialists and business owners in Alborz Province was expected to conclude with the signing of a number of agreements, according to head of Alborz Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture, Rahim Banamolaei.
