TEHRAN (Tasnim) � Khan Jan Alokozai, a senior official of the Afghan Chamber of Commerce, underlined the significance of Iran�s specialized exhibitions in Kabul, saying that after the expos bilateral trade between the two neighboring countries has risen to $1.8 billion.





The value of Afghanistan�s non-oil imports from Iran has reached $1.8 billion and $50 million worth of goods have been exported to the Islamic Republic, Alokozai said on the sidelines of Iran�s third specialized exhibition in the Afghan capital.

He added that before holding Iran�s specialized exhibitions, the value of bilateral trade between the two neighbors stood at $800 million.

�Holding an exhibition is a useful and effective measure, which both makes the two countries closer in economic areas and leaves numerous (positive) effects in the cultural and social fields,� he noted.

Iran�s third specialized exhibition, which has widely welcomed by Afghan citizens, opened in Kabul on Wednesday, and will last until Saturday, March 5.

Last month, Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade Mojtaba Khosrotaj described the Afghan market as �strategic� for Iranian merchants.

�Although Afghanistan is not considered a new market, presence in the market is strategic for Iran because we can have economic activities there in the long term,� the deputy minister said at the time.

By Tasnim New Agency