The head of the North Khorasan Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture has said that a trade delegation made up of the province’s investors will be dispatched to Russia on 27 Shahrivar (18 September) this year, with the aim of strengthening trade ties, unlocking economic benefits and identifying the capacities of both sides.
Saeed Pourabadi told reporters on Saturday that the delegation’s program includes a meeting with the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Moscow, presentations on the two countries’ capacities, field visits to Moscow’s commercial landscape and business opportunities, and a tour of the World Food exhibition.
The delegation’s program in Russia runs for five days, he added. World Food is Russia’s largest and most prominent food and beverage exhibition, and the provincial trade delegation will be visiting it.
The chamber chief went on to note that the Russian market holds good potential for the province’s agricultural products and building materials, and that special measures need to be devised to expand exports in these areas.
Pourabadi, noting that reviving the capacity of border regions is a priority for the 13th government, said that judging by the positions the country’s president has taken so far, the government’s approach to border markets has changed: it now seeks to put this capacity to work for the country’s trade — conditions that will help border residents’ livelihoods and the province’s development in a dignified way.
He added that the recent visit of the Turkmenistan president to Iran, and the memorandum signed with North Khorasan at its center, show that macro trade policy is moving in a direction that makes it possible to tap the potential of border markets.
Earlier, the Foreign Ministry’s deputy for economic diplomacy, on a visit to Bojnord, had pointed to Russia’s needs in the building materials sector, saying that three billion dollars’ worth of building materials is planned to be exported to the country — an opportunity North Khorasan can also seize.
During the 13th government’s one-year period, North Khorasan traders exported $206 million worth of goods to various countries, of which $109 million went through the provincial customs.
Sending and hosting trade delegations is a valuable step for North Khorasan’s commercial ties, and over the past year provincial trade delegations have been dispatched to Armenia and Kazakhstan.
Urea fertilizer, nitrogen, steel sections, melamine crystal powder, foam sheets, plastic products, tomato paste, concrete blocks, food-grade citric acid, sodium hydroxide, saffron and agricultural products were among North Khorasan’s main exports over the one-year period.
Home to large industrial units such as petrochemicals, steel, Esfarayen Looleh Gostar and Jajarm Alumina, North Khorasan ranks 17th among Iran’s provinces by large industrial units, while some 400 small industrial units are active in the province, employing around four thousand people.
North Khorasan maintains trade exchanges with 26 countries around the world.
IRNA News Agency
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