Iran to develop joint industrial parks with 4 neighbors: Official

A senior Iranian official says plans are underway to develop four joint industrial parks on Iran’s borders with Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkmenistan and Turkey.

Head of the Iranian Organization of Industrial Estates Fakhrollah Molaee said on Saturday that the Iran-Turkey industrial estate is currently under construction, noting that talks to build the other three estates are underway.

He highlighted that the construction of joint industrial parks with neighboring states will both help render the economic sanctions imposed on Iran ineffective, and contribute to the promotion of non-oil exports.

Deputy Director for Financial Assets in Trade Promotion Organization of Iran Kioumars Fathollah Kermanshahi said on May 23 that Iran’s annual trade turnover is projected to hit $160 billion by the end of the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan (2015).

He added that the value of annual imports and exports are planned to reach $77 billion and $83 billion respectively by the aforementioned point in time.

Head of Iran’s Customs Administration Abbas Me’marnejad said in early April that the Islamic Republic has scaled up its trade with 160 countries in the past Iranian calendar year (ended March 19, 2012) in spite of the economic sanctions against Tehran.

He added that the volume of Iran’s non-oil exports rose by 28 percent year on year and stood at $43.8 billion, which marked a significant increase in the world business arena.