Iran seeks joint trade zones with neighbors

By AzerNews

Iran is creating joint trade zones with neighboring countries. As part of establishing a joint commercial zone on its border with Turkey, two towns -- one on the Turkish side of the border and the other one on that of Iran - will be built, CEO of the Industrial Estates company of West Azarbaijan province, Ahmad Mousavi, has said.

The town on the Turkish side would be named Sari Su, while the one on the Iranian side Bazarqan.

"The establishment of a joint commercial zone between Iran and Turkey is aimed at increasing commercial dealings," Mousavi said, adding that the project itself would begin in March 2013.

He said that the zone will cover an area of about 2,000 acres (1,000 acres on each border side), and it will be established in the form of an "8", connecting the towns via a bottleneck on the border.

Mousavi added that the towns would require special regulations, since the commercial zone would be on the border.

The trade turnover between Iran and Turkey exceeded $20.8 billion in January-November 2012, a rise of around 40 percent compared to the same period of 2011.

Turkey's exports to Iran amounted to $7 billion in this period, mainly due to the exports of gold to Iran.

Oil, gas and petrochemicals account for a lion's share of Iran's exports to Turkey. The value of the Iran-Turkey trade exceeded $16 billion in 2011. The two countries plan to increase their bilateral trade to $30 billion by 2015.

Besides, Iran has expressed its intention to establish free economic zones with Azerbaijan.

In late January, spokesman for the Iranian Embassy in Azerbaijan, Mohammad Ayatollahi, said that Iran is interested in establishing joint free trade zones at its border checkpoints in Julfa, Astara and Bilasuvar.

Ayatollahi said that the creation of joint free trade zones on the two countries' shared border is on the agenda.

Also, Iran and Armenia signed a cooperation agreement to establish a joint free trade zone on their border last year.

During a trip by Sadeq Najafi, the head of Iran's Aras Free Trade Industrial Zone, the two countries also agreed that free health tests will be provided to Armenia's borderline population for visas to enter Iran.

The shared free trade zone reportedly would be located in the Eastern Azerbaijan province for Iran and the Syunik province in Armenia.