A group of commercial envoys met in Kish Island with Ali Jirofti - vice president of investment and economic development of Kish free trade zone – to discuss investment opportunities for their receiving countries in Iran.
These commercial envoys have been assigned to serve in the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Belarus, South Africa, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Brazil, Spain, Russia, Kurdistan and India to represent the economic prospects and investment opportunities in Iran.
Outlining the objectives of the meeting, Jirofti said: “the primary goal of this meeting is to enable the commercial envoys to introduce the country’s development plans and investment opportunities in the most effective way.”
Stressing the constructive role of commercial envoys Jirofti added that there are seven free trade zones across the country, each with specific goals. He said the main goal of Kish free trade zone is to develop merchandising and tourism businesses.
Kish Island is the country’s first and the most successful free trade zone. It is also an attractive holiday destination due to its refreshing weather and significantly low rate of crime. The Island is also rich with modern accommodation and entertainment facilities featuring plenty of 5 star hotels, shopping malls, a water park, Dolphinarium, ancient town of Harireh among others.
Every year 1.8 million tourists travel to the Island, among them 70 thousand foreigners. Most of these foreigners are reportedly south and south-east Asian workers who are flying to Kish Island from Dubai for visa change.
“There is a dock currently operational in the Island with a capacity of 5 kilo tons. A second dock will be operational in a month with a capacity of 12 kilo tons. A third dock, which is the largest one, with a capacity of 35 kilo tons is expected to become operational by March 2015”, Jirofti added during the meeting explaining the government’s development plans in Kish Island.
The Island is connected to oceans via the Sea of Oman and could become a shipping hub in the region. Kish has become a petroleum trade hub in the region over the past years and experts believe it can become internationally recognized in years to come.
Following Jirofti’s speech, some of the commercial envoys put forward their practical recommendations for improving economic cooperation between Kish Island and their receiving country.
