DUSHANBE, 07.06.2021 (NIAT Khovar) – Today, Tajikistan and Iran held a meeting of the Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, Technical and Cultural Cooperation in Dushanbe.

The Minister of Energy and Water Resources Juma Daler noted that the economic relations between Tajikistan and Iran cover various socio-economic spheres, one of the most important ways to strengthen them is to further expand cooperation.

He added that in 2020 the foreign trade turnover between Tajikistan and Iran amounted to $ 57.7 million. Its share in the country’s foreign trade is 1.3%. “Bilateral trade accounts for $ 9.4 million, imports — $ 48.4 million. These data show that there are many opportunities for cooperation between Tajikistan and Iran, and the parties should direct them to the further development of mutually beneficial trade and economic relations between the two countries,” Daler said.

“It should be noted that during the period of mutually beneficial cooperation, a number of works were carried out, one of which was the construction by Iran of the Sangtuda-2 hydro power plant (HPP) with a capacity of 220 MW. The first stone in the foundation of the Sangtuda HPP-2 was laid on February 20, 2006, and in 2014 the plant was put into operation with the participation of the heads of the two states,” Daler recalled.

The Minister of Energy and Water Resources said that the peoples of the two countries are linked by common historical, linguistic, cultural and religious ties, which creates a favorable basis for the development of mutually beneficial cooperation and friendly relations between the two countries.

“There is still a huge untapped potential of the two countries, which can play a significant role in bilateral relations,” he stressed.

Minister of Energy of Iran Reza Ardakanian said that Iran was one of the first countries to officially recognize the independence of Tajikistan in 1991.

“To date, 13 meetings of joint commissions have been held between Tajikistan and Iran, based on the results of which important issues were considered and a lot of work was done. I hope that today, during the 14th meeting, the existing issues will be resolved, and this will open a new page in the development of bilateral relations,” Ardakanian noted.

Tajikistan is interested in developing cooperation with Iran in the field of electricity, road construction, transport, communications, education, science, culture, healthcare, industry and other spheres. Iran’s foreign direct investment is directed to the service sector, industry, construction, energy, food processing, tractor manufacturing, agriculture and trade.