Iran, Kazakhstan boost trade exchanges to $5bln

Senior Iranian and Kazakh officials agreed on Saturday to boost the two countries' trade exchanges from the current $1.2bln to $5bln.Speaking in a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart, Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov said during his talks with Salehi the two sides agreed on increasing trade exchanges from $1.2 billion to $5 billion. Kazykhanov described his meeting with Salehi as a very important development in the promotion of bilateral political and economic ties, and said the Islamic Republic of Iran is a good market for Kazakhstan's wheat and can also play a major role in transiting its products to the other regional countries. He reiterated Astana's interest in bolstering cooperation between the two countries' traders, and said Kazakhstan intends to expand the rail link between the two nations as it plays a very important role in trade exchanges and swaps. Asked if Iran and Kazakhstan have decided to ease visa requirements and facilitate issuing visas for the two countries' businessmen, he said the issue is being taken into consideration. Kazykhanov further stated that Tehran and Astana have many grounds for cooperation and thanked Iran for supporting his country's chairmanship in the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Kazykhanov arrived here in Tehran yesterday and is due to hold meetings with more senior Iranian officials, including Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, on Sunday.