Iran's Minister of Industries, Mines, and Trade, Mohammad-Reza Nematzadeh said trade exchanges between Iran and Uzbekistan boomed in 2014 compared with the previous years and the current ceiling of cooperation is around $250 million, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported.
Mohammad-Reza Nematzadeh, after a meeting with Uzbekistan's Minister of Economic Relations, Investments, and Trade Elyor Ganiev on Feb. 15 in Tehran, told reporters a delegation from Uzbekistan is visiting Iran to discuss ways of implementing an MoU to develop railway transportation between Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Oman; the issue is to be discussed with the minister of Roads and Urban Development.
He said Iran's minister of Industries and Uzbekistan's minister of Economic Relations met as the chairpersons of the two countries joint commissions, and the commission is to have meetings in Tashkent in May 2015.
He expressed hope that the bilateral trade exchanges will grow in 2015.
Uzbekistan is willing to increase flights between Tehran and Tashkent to two flights a week which is going to be discussed, said the minister, adding Uzbekistan is one of the countries which provides Iran with cotton and grain.
Iran can export automobiles, household appliances, electrical equipment, construction materials and petrochemicals to Uzbekistan, said Nematzadeh.
An agreement on transportation corridor was signed in 2011 in Ashgabat between Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Oman, and Qatar. Qatar later pulled out the agreement.