Agreements worth $100 million were signed between traders from Mazandaran Province and Kazakhstan’s Mangystau region to boost economic cooperation in trade, agriculture, technical and engineering services and tourism, Mazandaran Province Governor Rabi Fallah announced on Saturday.
The agreements were signed as part of a visit by Mazandaran-based traders and business owners attending Iran’s exclusive exhibition in Kazakhstan’s Mangystau region, Mehr News Agency reported.
The official referred to reviving oil swaps between Iranian and Kazakh ports and the establishment of a direct flight between Kazakhstan’s Aktau Port and city of Sari in Mazandaran Province as other key decisions made during the visit.
Expo 2015
Iran’s Exclusive Exhibition (Iran Expo 2015) was held in Aktau, the capital city of Kazakh Mangystau region, on July 21-24. The majority of Iranian participants in the event were from Mazandaran Province, as the exhibition’s organizer.
Companies from North Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi and Golestan provinces also took part, offering products and services from a wide range of industries such as construction, energy, food, livestock and poultry, textile and engineering.
The expo was aimed at familiarizing Iranian traders with the advantages offered by Kazakh ports and boosting trade between Iran and Kazakhstan, which is viewed by Iran as a gateway to Russia and other Eurasian countries.
Business Conference
Parallel to the exhibition, a conference was held in Actau on Wednesday to introduce trade and investment opportunities in both Mazandaran and Mangystau and identify avenues for boosting economic cooperation between the two regions.
Addressing the conference, Fallah referred to the recently inaugurated Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway and access to seaports along the rail line as a suitable opportunity for boosting bilateral trade.
The 926-kilometer long railroad was inaugurated in December last year, connecting the Eurasian countries to Central Asia via Iran. It runs 80 kilometers within Iran, 700 kilometers in Turkmenistan and more than 120 kilometers in Kazakhstan.
The railroad, according to Mangystau governor Alik Aidarbayev, has opened a new path for development of Kazakhstan.
The Kazakh official noted that construction of new wharves in Aktau Port is expected to facilitate cargo transit from Kazakhstan to Turkey, Iran, the Persian Gulf states and India, adding that Kazakhstan has allocated $30 million for development of the port.
Iran and Kazakhstan also inaugurated a joint technological center in Almaty on Wednesday, with the aim of sharing experiences in technological areas.
