ArmInfo. In the first half of this year, about 300 companies with Iranian capital opened in Armenia. Minister of Economy of Armenia Vahan Kerobyan told journalists on the margins of the opening of the "Aras" free economic zone exhibition. "I think that the intensity is quite good, but we have wider opportunities.
Today's exhibition will open Armenia's opportunities for Iranian business, and Iran for Armenian entrepreneurs," he said. In this vein, the minister noted that in terms of their number, Iranian investors in Armenia are second only to investors from the Russian Federation.
At the same time, the head of the economic department stressed that despite the fact that the volume of trade between Armenia and Iran has doubled over the past 2 years, at this stage there is a slowdown. In this context, Vahan Kerobyan noted that it is necessary to find new opportunities in order to reach the target of $3 billion set by the leaders of Armenia and Iran. "Now we are at the level of $800 million," he said.
According to Kerobyan, representatives of 7 Iranian FEZs, 60 Iranian and 50 Armenian companies take part in the exhibition. The purpose of the exhibition is to stimulate trade relations between Armenia and Iran. According to the RA Statistical Committee, the foreign trade turnover between Armenia and Iran in Jan-June 2023 increased by 11.8%, amounting to $344.2 million. At the same time, exports decreased by 7.5% to $53.6 million, while imports increased by 16 .3% to $290.6 million.
