By Nizamuddin Rezahi in Khaama Press online, Feb 1, 2023
Mohammad Mousavi, Iran’s Deputy Minister of Trade on Tuesday in a meeting said that Tehran is planning to set up a trade center in Afghanistan in the coming future.
The establishment of the trade center is aimed at strengthening trade relations between Tehran and Kabul, Mousavi stated to Mehr New Agency.
While addressing to meeting Mousavi said that Tehran wanted to invest in Afghanistan and actively participate in the country’s sustainable growth.
Iran serves as one of the key trading partners in Afghanistan for decades. The two neighboring Islamic countries share a lot in common, from culture to food, lifestyle, and more.
Meanwhile, Afghan officials have said that the volume of imports from Iran, such as food and fuel, has totaled more than $1 billion so far this year. Whereas, Afghanistan’s export volume to Iran was much lower and totaled only $20.
Iran is one of the few countries which maintained close ties with Afghanistan’s Taliban regime. Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, Iran has continued trading with Afghanistan, kept issuing visas to Afghans, and continued delivering humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan during these difficult times.
With the U.S., Iran’s arch-rival and enemy gone, the situation is perfectly suitable for Iran to strengthen its economic and political relations with the Taliban, exploit the country’s resources, and turn Afghanistan into a lucrative market for its products and commercial goods.
Prior to this, Iranian business officials had visited Afghanistan and met with the Taliban authorities aimed at discussing potential investment in the war-torn country. Despite all the odds, Afghanistan can still become a potential business hub for Iran.
Meanwhile, Taliban authorities are desperately looking for potential foreign investments as the country is going through the worst economic, humanitarian, and power crises.https://www.khaama.com/iran-considers-establishing-a-trade-center-in-afghanistan/
