Tehran, Iran, April 29
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
Iran's Agricultural Jihad Deputy Minister AbdolMehdi Bakhshande and Executive Secretary of Kazakh Industry and New Technologies Ministry, Beibit Atamkulov held a meeting in Tehran on April 28.
During the meeting, Atamkulov called on expansion of agricultural ties between Astana and Tehran, Iran's Mehr News Agency reported on April 28.
"There are many lands in Kazakhstan suitable for harvesting wheat," he said, inviting the Iranian side to invest in the field.
Bakhshande, for his part, said that Iran is among top countries in the region, in terms of technical and technological knowledge.
"Iran can export biotechnology and nanotechnology to Kazakhstan," he said.
Bakhshande went on to note that Iran exported $6 billion worth of agricultural products and foodstuff in the previous calendar year (which ended on March 20).
Atamkulov previously said that the value of annual trade between Iran and Kazakhstan is around $620 million.
"Kazakhstan imports $538 million worth of goods to Iran and imports $81 million worth of goods from the country," Iran's Mehr news agency quoted Atamkulov as saying on April 28.
"Kazakhstan is ready to increase exports of wheat and metal products to Iran," he added.
Iran's Ambassador to Kazakhstan Gorban Seyfi told Trend on Feb. 10 that Kazakhstan and Iran intend to intensify the relations at all levels in 2014.
Seyfi recalled that the third meeting of the Kazakh- Iranian group on economic cooperation was held in Astana on Jan. 9. A document, envisaging the intensification of the relations in the field of mining, agriculture and trade was signed following the meeting.
"We hope that the relations are being intensified among the private sector representatives," he said.
As of 2013, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $700 million," he said.
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