The 19th meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on trade-economic, scientific-technical and cultural cooperation between Kazakhstan and Iran was held in Tehran.

The event, co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin and Minister of Agriculture of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mohammad Ali Nikbakht, was attended by representatives of ministries and state enterprises of the two countries.

At the meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission, the sides noted the successful development of interstate relations in trade, agriculture, logistics, energy, healthcare, education, tourism and other spheres.

Serik Zhumangarin reminded that the Heads of our states have set a task to achieve a three-billion-dollar border in trade between Kazakhstan and Iran.

"The first step to fulfill this order will be the signing of the Action Plan to bring mutual trade turnover to $3 billion. The document provides support for exporting enterprises in several areas: increasing the volume of mutual trade, removal of trade restrictions, the introduction of a bilateral clearing mechanism and more", — said Deputy Prime Minister and added that Kazakh companies are interested in the establishment of uninterrupted exports of non-resource goods to the Iranian market.

The producers are ready to supply Iranian consumers with products for 75 commodity items totaling about $250 million.

Also during the meeting, Serik Zhumangarin positively assessed the progress made by the countries in concluding a full-fledged Free Trade Agreement between the EAEU member states and Iran.

According to the Minister of Agriculture of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mohammad Ali Nikbakht, Iranian enterprises can establish supplies of fish and dairy products, honey, fruits and vegetables, herbs, dried fruits and other food products in Kazakhstan. The Iranian side also showed interest in Kazakh investments and expressed willingness to provide special conditions for doing business in free economic zones in Iran.

The Intergovernmental Commission also discussed further expansion of transport and logistics cooperation. In particular, the development of international North-South transport corridors. The Caspian hub could become a key link in this direction.

At the end of the plenary session, Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin and Minister of Agriculture of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mohammad Ali Nikbakht signed the Protocol of the 19th Joint Intergovernmental Commission and the Action Plan to bring trade turnover between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Islamic Republic of Iran to $3 billion.

Besides, as a result of the Intergovernmental Commission, documents were signed in the spheres of agriculture and metrology:

Memorandum on cooperation in the field of veterinary medicine between the Ministries of Agriculture of Kazakhstan and Iran.

Memorandum of Understanding in the field of metrology between the Kazakhstan Institute of Standardization and Metrology and the National Metrology Center of the Iranian National Organization for Standardization.

During his working visit to Tehran, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister met with Iran’s leading businessmen in agriculture, housing and utilities, investment, mining, industry and transportation.