Mr. Ghalibaf, the Speaker of Iran Parliament, on 23rd January, met with the Speaker of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Vyacheslav Volodin, on the sidelines of the third meeting of the Joint High Commission on Parliamentary Cooperation of the Parliament. Mr. Ghalibaf pointed out that for the meeting of the Joint Commission, various agendas have been considered in the fields of "energy, transportation, agriculture, banking and finance, security issues and regional cooperation".
Among other issues, planning a North-South route, through which not only the Russian Federation, but also all the countries of Eurasia and Central Asia can benefit, with the priority of connecting Astara to Rasht and its development to southern ports including Bandar Abbas, was discussed. With the joint investment of two countries, building of such route will hopefully start.
Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation mentioned that 3 years ago, they had a plan to be in Tehran to hold a meeting, but the outbreak of Corona changed their plans and it was limited to telephone and video communication only.
The two spokesmen discussed the implementation of the 25- year agreement as the bedrock of the development of ties and closer cooperation in all areas.
On 27th January 2023, Iran and Kazakhstan Joint Economic Committee meeting was held in Tehran. Mr. Javad Sadati-Nejad, Iranian Agriculture Minister, and Mr. Alikhan Smailov, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, were the co-organizers of this talk.
The two parties had discussions with regard to major areas. The meeting resulted in concluding a comprehensive memorandum of understanding (MOU) based on which the commercial transactions between the two countries will mostly be in the field of agricultural products. In light of this, Iran and Kazakhstan will lay the foundation of a commercial-agricultural joint venture to improve trade in the Persian Gulf countries, Central Asia, and West Asia.
It was highlighted by Mr. Amir Yousefi, the vice-chairman of the Agriculture Committee of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) in this meeting, that Kazakhstan is a pleasant choice for Iran in terms of extraterritorial cultivation because of its high-quality soil and fine water.
At the time being, the level of trade between Iran and Kazakhstan is around 500 million dollars. In order to enhance this number, the two countries have put an annual trade of three billion dollars on the agenda and expressed hope to achieve this goal with their mutual cooperation. In this regard, a joint committee will be established in the next month to follow this target.
Also, the head of the Iran-Kazakhstan Joint Chamber of Commerce, announced that the business office of the Iran-Kazakhstan joint chamber will soon be opened in Almaty. By introducing the capabilities and potentials of Iran and Kazakhstan for the improvement of economic relations, he considered Kazakhstan’s market as a strategic destination for Iranian businessmen.
As the latest step towards e-governance, Iran’s Ministry of Economics and Finance has issued a new bylaw on January 17th, 2023 according to which all customs-related notices and official documents shall be notified electronically.
According to this by-law, all natural and legal persons who need to undergo customs release procedure for their goods, should register in a new website created for this purpose, and thereafter, all relevant notifications including invitations to meetings, notice of enforcement proceedings, documents related to customs proceedings, notices and documents related to disputes in customs quasi-judicial bodies, etc. shall be notified through this portal and a notification will be sent to the users registered email and cellphone number. Also, users can register their objections/appeals to the notified decisions through this website.
