Iranian, Uzbek Presidents Discuss Expanding Trade & Investment Cooperation

Iranian President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev discussed further cooperation in trade, investment, and transport.

“We are determined to develop trade, economic, and cultural cooperation between our countries. We are also fully prepared to facilitate Uzbekistan’s trade interactions with other countries through the North-South Corridor,” Pezeshkian said during a phone conversation on July 17, according to Iran’s ISNA news agency.

Pezeshkian assured his Uzbek counterpart that the agreements signed between Tehran and Tashkent during the tenure of the late President Ebrahim Raisi would be fully implemented by the new government.

He further emphasized the priority of developing relations with Central Asian countries in Iran’s foreign policy and highlighted the importance of fostering friendly relations with Uzbekistan.

In response, President Mirziyoyev said that “in recent years, Iran and Uzbekistan have taken significant steps to elevate the level of bilateral relations and have set large and important goals in this regard. We hope to achieve these goals during your presidency.”

He also expressed Uzbekistan’s interest in boosting cooperation with Iran, particularly in the trade and economic sectors, and reiterated his country’s readiness to establish a joint commission with Iran to facilitate private sector activities in both countries.

The presidents then expressed satisfaction with the increase in “trade, the transport of cargo, the number of joint projects and ventures, and the frequency of flights.”

Both sides also emphasized the importance of implementing agreements reached at the highest level and promoting cooperation projects in the energy, chemical industry, agriculture, food, and other sectors.

In June 2023, the Iranian and Uzbek presidents signed a joint statement on reinforcing cooperation between their countries and also signed 15 documents at the government, ministry, and regional levels.

These documents included an intergovernmental agreement on preferential trade, a cooperation program between the Technical Regulation Agency of Uzbekistan and the National Standard Organization of Iran, an action plan for cooperation in new technology and innovation, memorandums of cooperation in creating joint free economic zones, pharmaceuticals, transport and transit, a plan of joint measures in sports, a memorandum of understanding in dispute resolution and arbitration, and a non-binding agreement on cooperation in reinsurance.

During the 15th Iran-Uzbekistan Joint Economic Cooperation Committee on June 1, 2023, Iranian and Uzbek officials signed a memorandum of understanding aiming to increase bilateral trade to $1 billion within the next two years.

According to official data on the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s website, the Iran-Uzbekistan trade volume reached $431 million in 2021. Trade between Uzbekistan and Iran nearly doubled over the past three years, and the number of Uzbek companies with Iranian capital tripled to 420 within the past five years. Bilateral trade amounted to $500 million in 2023, according to a report by the Uzbekistan Statistics Agency.

Uzbekistan, being a doubly landlocked country, is paying special attention to participation in and playing a role in transit projects and communication corridors, such as the Belt and Road Initiative, the North-South Corridor, and the Iran-Afghanistan-Uzbekistan transit project through the Chabahar port. Therefore, the southern ports of Iran – Chabahar and Bandar Abbas – are strategic for Uzbekistan, with priority given to transportation and utilizing these capacities in economic relations with Iran.