Rustam Minnikhanov meets the Iranian delegation

On December 20, at the Government House of the republic, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov had a meeting with the Iranian delegation led by Governor of Khorasan Razavi Province Alireza Rashidian.

Minnikhanov thanked Alireza Rashidian for the opportunity to visit the city of Mashhad in April this year and get acquainted with the economic opportunities of Khorasan Rezavi, the provincial experience in the development of the education system, tourism, archives. During a return visit of representatives of Iran to Tatarstan, the governor of Khorasan-Rezavi visited the largest industrial enterprises of the republic, took part in the business forum, during which a number of documents on cooperation were signed. In particular, the parties agreed to hold an exhibition of Iranian goods in Kazan. "We are sure that these events will give a further impetus to the development of our relations, a new impulse of interaction between our regions," Tatarstan President emphasized.

Minnikhanov noted that Tatarstan is glad to develop cooperation with Iranian partners as part of Russian-Iranian relations. "Today the trade turnover between Tatarstan and Iran is growing quite well, but the volumes are still not as large as we would like them to be. Figures should grow 5-10 times, but not 1.5 times. The province of Khorasan-Rezavi and our republic have the potential for this," Minnikhanov said.

He said that at his meeting with representatives of the Iranian Mahan Air Company the organization of direct flights between Iran and Tatarstan was discussed, while Iran Markaz Company expressed readiness to develop cooperation in the sphere of tourism. "I believe that these are very important elements that will allow us to bring our peoples closer together, contribute to the development of our interaction," Tatarstan President continued.

Minnikhanov stressed that Tatarstan has great experience of cooperation with Iran. Such regional enterprises as KAMAZ Automaker, Tatneft Oil Company, and the Kazan Helicopter Plant have been cooperating with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

"We are a petrochemical republic. We produce the main types of petrochemical products. Tatarstan is the leader in the production of rubbers and plastics in Russia. Also, our enterprises can offer oil and gas production equipment, turbines, gas pumping stations, compressors, refrigeration equipment, which are in demand in the Iranian market," Minnikhanov added.

He noted that Tatarstan is working actively with the Islamic world, especially with the OIC countries. "Russian President Vladimir Putin supports the development of cooperation with Muslim countries. On his instruction, I have been heading the Russia-Islamic World Strategic Vision Group since 2014, which is doing a lot of work to popularize our country in the Islamic world," Tatarstan President said.

Rashidian thanked Minnikhanov for the high level of organization of the visit of the Iranian delegation to Tatarstan and expressed his hope that ties between Tatarstan and Iran will continue to grow.

Then, the representatives of the Iranian business community announced possible options for developing cooperation with Tatarstan partners.