Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan agree to boost trade on SCO sidelines
Iranian Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Mohammad Atabak held separate talks with his Uzbek and Tajik counterparts on Friday, with the three sides agreeing to boost trade volumes, streamline customs procedures and operationalize previous bilateral agreements.
The meetings took place on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) industry ministers' meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
In his meeting with Laziz Kudratov, Uzbekistan's Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade, the two sides emphasized increasing trade and economic exchanges through the facilitation of customs processes and the operationalization of existing agreements between Tehran and Tashkent.
The two sides discussed "strengthening trade and customs processes, cooperation in mining and mineral industries, and leveraging new and knowledge-based technologies." They also emphasized expanding "industrial and trade cooperation within the framework of the SCO."
In a separate meeting with Sherali Kabir, Tajikistan's Minister of Industry and New Technologies, Atabak and Kabir focused on maximizing bilateral capacities and strengthening economic ties. The two ministers stressed accelerating the implementation of previous memorandums of understanding and operationalizing mutual agreements.
They discussed increasing trade exchanges between the two countries, with a focus on Iran's capabilities in mineral reserves and processing, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and readiness to expand cooperation.
Given the importance of increasing trade volume, the two ministers agreed on the need to facilitate administrative processes to accelerate trade and industrial relations between Tehran and Dushanbe.
Trade between Iran and Tajikistan reached approximately $484 million in 2025, a 28 percent increase from the previous year, making Iran one of Tajikistan's top five trading partners. Bilateral trade surged 50 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, reaching about $120 million.
The meeting also emphasized the need to utilize SCO capacities as a transformative platform for industrial integration among member states, as well as expert-level consultations and continuous follow-up to achieve tangible results.