Minister: Iran Ready to Boost Agricultural Cooperation with Uzbekistan

Nouri made the remarks in a meeting with the officials of the ministeries of agriculture, trade, and investment of Uzbekistan in Tehran.

He pointed the 14th Iranian government's strategic vision to enhance relations with other countries, stressing the importance of the initiative taken by the President of Uzbekistan to foster international relations, which has created significant opportunities for constructive cooperation between the two countries.

Nouri expressed Iran's readiness to supply the agricultural machinery that Uzbekistan needs, emphasizing that cooperation could involve not only the direct export of products, but also the barter of goods such as potatoes and legumes.

He also stressed that Iran has a rich history of over a century in agricultural research and is prepared to share its valuable experiences with Uzbekistan.

For his part, Ibrohim Ergashev, the head of the Plant Quarantine Service of Uzbekistan, stressed the importance of economic cooperation between the two countries, saying, "Uzbekistan is committed to developing and strengthening trade relations with Iran, and necessary planning has been undertaken in this regard."

He underscored a significant increase in agricultural trade, stating that the volume of imports from Iran has doubled compared to the previous year, reaching $68 million.

The head of the Agricultural Research, Education and Promotion Organization of Iran announced last year that the country ranks 13th in production of science in the agricultural fields.

“Iran's rank in scientific productions in the agricultural sector this year ascended from the 15th position to the 13th position at the international level,” Mojtaba Khayyam Nekouyi said.

He underlined the importance of scientific production in the agricultural sector, saying, “We expect the agricultural sector to become knowledge-based, and the most important component of knowledge-based development is the increase in scientific and technological production.”

Noting that 14 Iranian scientists in the agricultural field have been introduced among the world's 2% scientists in terms of scientific productions, Khayyam Nekouyi said, “At present Iran ranks first in scientific production in the Middle East.”

“We expect the growth of scientific and technological productions of universities in the agricultural sector to settle the problems,” he added.