ANKARA: Turkey will build an industrial zone in Iran in accordance with the MoU signed between Istanbul Chamber of Commerce and Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA).
The Turkish side is ready to facilitate the presence of Turkish investors in Iran, said Mohsen Jalalpour, Head of ICCIMA on the sidelines of the signing ceremony, Mehr news agency reported. The initial investment for the industrial zone will amount to $10 billion, he said, adding that the Turkish investment will be accompanied by technology transfer.
Iran has proposed seven locations to Turkey, according to Ali Yazdani, Iranian Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade. The Turkish side will visit these sites in the near future and develop the design and infrastructure of the industrial zone. Currently, there are seven free trade-industrial zones and many special economic zones in Iran, which act as a tool to attract foreign direct investment and promote non-oil exports of the country. These zones enjoy custom and tax exemptions over inflow and outflow of goods and commodities and many other privileges.
Yazdani emphasized that the envisaged industrial zone will be active in various fields including industry, textile and food products. The realization of the project on industrial park will serve to enhance economic cooperation between Iran and Turkey.
The two countries enjoy very close trade and economic relations. In 2012, the trade between them amounted to $21.9 billion. Nevertheless, due to the western sanctions, this figure fell below 10 billion in 2015. Now, banking and financial transactions have become much easier as most of the sanctions against Iran were softened. Turkish officials recently announced that Turkey plans to triple trade with Iran to $30 billion in the coming years. Additionally, Turkey is not rich with hydrocarbon reserves and imports large amount of natural gas from Iran.
