In their trip to Iran, the Tajik delegation visited the customs, railroad, storage, and cold storage sites with the managers of SEZ, customs and terminals of Sarakhs in attendance.

“Both sides have set their sights, among other things, on expanding Central Asian markets. Being located in the heart of ECO (Economic Cooperation Organization) countries, SEZ acts as a bridge in the region between Central Asia and Persian Gulf littoral states”, said SEZ Chairman of the Board on the sidelines of the visit.

“Tajikistan is an influential country with many lingual and cultural commonalities with Iran. The Tajik delegation has expressed their interest for mutual cooperation and investment”, added Mohammad Reza Barahmand.

The SEZ head continued that, “we have discussed and agreed on some important issues, and an MoU will be signed between SEZ and Tajik free economic zones within days with Khorasan Razavi governor in attendance”.

Barahmand further talked about agreements between the two sides including the establishment of joint offices, and facilitation of investments in SEZ and Tajik free economic zones.

“In addition to these, some financial facilities have been provided to merchants that ship goods between SEZ and Tajik free zones, and we squarely support the interested investors in this regard”, he asserted.

Referring to the expansion of commercial activities and shipment of goods from SEZ, Barahmand noted: “Given that this region is the golden gateway to Central Asia, we need to make the best use of its capacities for the development of export and import, which will benefit both the region and country”.

Cotton and oats are the main exports of Tajikistan and are considered two strategic goods for Iran. “We can partly satisfy Iran’s demand for these goods via imports from SEZ”, said the official.

For his part, Abdollah Mostafa Rostam, CEO of Kalp free economic zone in Tajikistan said: “A delegation from the Khatlon Province in Tajikistan has visited SEZ as emphasized by the Tajik president in a bid to expand economic relations between the two nations”.

Stressing that the main objective is a mutual win-win cooperation, head of Tajik Kalp free economic zone added: “Besides benefiting from both sides’ experience in starting joint companies and logistical centers for import and export, we can pave the way for huge investments as well”.

Mostafa Rostam was astonished by the vast facilities and infrastructures at SEZ, noting: “This region has considerable mineral and natural resources in addition to its logistical capacities, and Dushanbe has long been looking forward to finding a region with rich natural resources to import gas and fuel from”.