Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Iran and Kazakhstan are planning to boost bilateral relations in all fields in 2014, Iranian ambassador to Kazakhstan Qorban Seyfi told Trend Agency on February 10.

"Kazakhstan and Iran intend to expand bilateral relations at all levels this year," he said. "The agenda includes reciprocal visits of high-ranking officials at the highest level, that is, the presidents of the two countries. Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev participated in the inauguration ceremony of President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran. Currently, the issue of the presidents' future visit is under consideration."

The ambassador went on to say that the 13th session of the intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation should be held in Tehran in the first half of 2014. Also, a meeting of the working groups of the chambers of commerce of both countries should be held.

The third meeting of the Kazakhstan-Iran group on economic cooperation was held in Astana on January 9. Following the meeting, the two sides signed a document, envisaging the expansion of relations in the field of mining, agriculture and trade.

"We hope that the relations will be developed among the private sector representatives," he said.

Touching on the construction of Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway, he said Turkmenistan is expected to construct its section towards Iran this year. And the presidents of the three countries will meet in an official ceremony.

Cooperation with Iran is of significant importance for Kazakhstan.

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.