TEHRAN- Iran exported non-oil commodities valued at $2.2 billion to Afghanistan during the 11-month period from March 20, 2024 to February 18, 2025, the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) announced.Foroud Asgari said that Afghanistan was Irans fifth top export destination in the mentioned 11-month period.On February 21, the governors of Iran and Afghanistans central banks met on the sidelines of a banking technology summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, to discuss strengthening monetary and banking cooperation, Irans central bank said.Irans central bank chief, Mohammad Reza Farzin, and his Afghan counterpart Noor Ahmad Agha, emphasized the importance of expanding financial collaboration to support growing economic and trade exchanges between the two countries, the statement added.Also, in last October, ports and maritime officials of Iran and Afghanistan met to discuss investment opportunities for the Afghan private sector in Irans southeastern Chabahar Port.In the meeting attended by the director general of the Ports and Maritime Department of Sistan-Baluchestan Province, the governor-general of the province, some MPs, and officials of the Afghanistan Trade and Industry Ministry, the opportunities for cooperation and participation of the private sector of Afghanistan in Chabahar port were introduced and reviewed.Qasem Askari-Nasab, the director general of the Ports and Maritime Department of Sistan-Baluchestan Province, welcomed the request of the Afghan government to invest in the Iranian port while introducing the commercial facilities and capacities of Chabahars Shahid Beheshti port to the Afghan side.The Afghan side's investment in Chabahar port, in addition to the possibility of Afghanistan's access to open waters, will strengthen the economic relations between the two countries and develop transit in the region, Askari-Nasab said.Introducing new economic opportunities to increase trade relations between the investors of the two countries, he further proposed that the Afghan side invest in the construction of a multi-purpose terminal for goods and containers.Meanwhile, in a meeting with an Iranian trade delegation in Kabul in last August, Afghanistan's interim Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund said that his country is eager to attract Iranian investors in order to develop Afghan mining industry, generate solar electricity and expand railway connectivity.The Iranian delegation also proposed to launch a joint special industrial zone with Afghanistan.Noting that Afghanistan has turned into a good place for making investment, Mullah said that the relevant ministries and organizations there, will cooperate and work closely with the investors.The Iranian delegation, made up of economic and trade players, also held a separate meeting with Afghanistans acting minister of commerce Haji Nooruddin Azizi.
They called for the formation of a joint economic-mining zone between the two neighboring countries.At the time, Iran's commercial attach in Afghanistan said that in order to improve Irans presence in Afghanistan's markets, the trade between the two countries should move towards newer models of cooperation.Afghanistan supplies more than 80 percent of its market needs through imports, and imports from Iran constitute 25 percent of this amount, Hossein Roustaei said in a meeting on opportunities and challenges of the Afghan market, held by Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA).Referring to Afghanistan's import priorities, including food, agriculture, fuel, basic goods such as flour, oil, eggs, day-old chickens, medicine, medical equipment, and construction equipment, he continued: Iran exported more than 724 million dollars of goods to Afghanistan in the first four months of the current [Iranian calendar year] (March 20-July 21) which has increased by 28 percent compared to the same period last year.The establishment of national security and the central government in Afghanistan over the past two years have improved the conditions of trade with this country, he added.Afghanistan has prioritized the exploitation of the countrys mines.
Therefore, Iran's traditional economic relation with Afghanistan should enter into newer models of cooperation, he stressed.According to Roustaei, investment and operation of mines, technical and engineering services, mechanization of agriculture and smart agriculture, construction of transportation infrastructure, and renewable energies are among the new fields that should be considered for cooperation between the two countries.He further emphasized that the establishment of a joint economic zone between the two countries should be implemented as soon as possible, saying: Considering the recent conflicts between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Afghanistan wants to use the opportunity of Chabahar port in the best way.
Iran can increase its transit role in the import and export of Afghanistan from the current 50 percent.MA