Tehran-Kabul trade volume hits $900 mn

The trade volume of Iran-Afghanistan hits $900 million, showing a 25 percent growth in the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year, Iran’s Trade Development Organization (ITDO) says.

Director of Marketing and Business Relations for the Iran Trade Development Organization (ITDO) Reza Tofiqhi said the rate of Iran’s exports to Afghanistan has surpassed $900 million in the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-November 21) and would probably reach $1.2 billion by the end of the year.

The rise of exports to Afghanistan is resulted from the private sectors’ endeavors as well as government plans to facilitate businessmen’s access to the Afghan market, IRNA quoted Tofiqi as saying on Monday.

Tofiqi touched upon the ITDO’s efforts aimed at boosting the level of trade exchange between the two neighboring countries, saying, “Pursuing the simplification of visa issuance for the traders of the two sides and introducing the Afghan market to Iran’s private sector through various conferences are parts of the [ITDO’s] adopted measures.”

“The dispatch of trade delegations, expansion of relations between the two countries’ chambers of commerce as well as the Iranian embassy’s support for trade activities are among the works that have elevated the level of Teheran-Kabul economic relations,” the ITDO official concluded.

In November, during the third joint Iran-Afghanistan economic commission, Iran’s former Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki had said a joint commercial committee has been established between Tehran and Kabul that uses a common currency for bilateral dealings.