Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

The possible ways to boost bilateral ties, as well as regional and international issues were high on the agenda of talks held between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The Iranian president started his official visit to Kazakhstan on September 8.

The Iranian president will participate in a joint forum of entrepreneurs and businessmen of the two countries.

The presidents are expected to sign a number of bilateral documents in the field of development of bilateral relations, particularly in trade and economic cooperation and in the strengthening of cooperation between Iran and Kazakhstan in the international and regional organizations.

Rouhani is expected to hold bilateral talks with officials from other participating nations on the sidelines of the summit.

A group of cabinet ministers are accompanying the president in his visit to Kazakhstan.

Minister of Road and Urban Planning Abbas Akhoundi, Minister of Agricultural Jihad Mahmoud Hojjati, Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Reza Ne'matzadeh, Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Welfare Ali Rabiee,

Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati, Vice-President and Head of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Masoud Sultanifar, Governor of Central Bank Valiollah Saif are among the accompanying delegation.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is also accompanying President Rouhani in Kazakhstan visit, met with his Kazakh counterpart Erlan Idrissov in Astana on September 8, and the two sides discussed issues of mutual interest as well as regional developments.

Rouhani is in Kazakhstan's capital Astana on the first leg of his five-day tour of Central Asia. He is heading a high-ranking economic and diplomatic delegation.

The Iranian president will later head to Tajikistan for a three-day visit where he will attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

In 2013, trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $700 million.

The two countries are interested in increasing the trade turnover to $5-10 billion. There is a great potential for growth of trade turnover in the fields of food industry, transport sector and the development of transit routes.

Kazakhstan's main exports to Iran are grains and steel products, while Iran's exports to Kazakhstan are food products -- fruits, flowers, greens and vegetables. Iran also exports construction materials such as ceramics, tiles, plastics and petrochemical products to Kazakhstan.

A number of Iranian companies are actively working in Kazakhstan, particularly, in the field of engineering, construction, road sector, agriculture and poultry farming. The parties are also working on a joint telecommunication project.