Tehran, Dushanbe weigh preferential tariffs, gold imports in free-zone trade push
Iran and Tajikistan on Wednesday discussed expanding trade and investment cooperation between Iran’s Sarakhs free zone and Tajikistan’s Dangara free zone at a joint economic meeting, proposing preferential tariffs, facilitating gold imports from Tajikistan and a cooperation agreement between the two zones.
The Tajik side was led by the head of the Dangara free zone, IRIB reported. Both sides reviewed shared trade and investment capacities and stressed the need to expand economic exchanges between the two countries’ free zones.
They also discussed ways to increase commercial exchanges, streamline trade procedures and draw on private and public sector capacities.
Mohsen Pourahmadi, deputy head of the Sarakhs Trade-Industrial Free Zone Organization, said a key proposal was establishing preferential tariffs to facilitate bilateral trade and raise trade volumes between Iran and Tajikistan.
The meeting also discussed laying the groundwork for gold imports from Tajikistan and exchanging a database of economic operators from both sides, which could help identify new trade opportunities and strengthen direct business contacts, he said.
Pourahmadi said the two sides proposed signing a cooperation agreement between the Sarakhs Trade-Industrial Free Zone and Tajikistan’s Dangara free zone to strengthen economic exchanges and facilitate contacts between investors and economic operators.
He said such meetings aim to identify new cooperation opportunities, strengthen trade ties and develop economic relations between Iran’s Khorasan Razavi province and Tajikistan.
At the end of the meeting, both sides stressed the importance of continued economic consultations and using the capacities of the Sarakhs and Dangara free zones to develop trade and economic relations between the two countries.