Iranian Ambassador: Georgia-Iran trade turnover could reach record $400 million by end of 2026

As a result of changes to customs and border regulations, the trade balance between Georgia and Iran has shifted significantly in Georgia’s favor for the first time in history. Bilateral trade turnover could reach an unprecedented $400 million by the end of 2026, Iranian Ambassador to Georgia Ali Moujani said at a press conference held at the Iranian Embassy.

According to the Iranian diplomat, a new model providing Georgian businesspeople and economic sector representatives with access to the Iranian market has been developed in a short period of time. He described the model as unprecedented.

Moujani explained that Georgian businesspeople can now join Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture by paying a small membership fee, just like Iranian businesspeople, and exercise voting rights.

He identified another opportunity in establishing a framework for regional cooperation and opening neighboring Iranian markets, including Iraq and Afghanistan, to free trade with Georgia.

“In this regard, through the efforts of the Iranian Market Trade Network, correspondence has been established between the Georgian trade network and the chambers of commerce of two neighboring countries of Iran, with a combined population of 78 million.

The chambers of commerce in Mashhad, as well as those in Tabriz, Hamadan and Kermanshah, have received relevant instructions to consult with trading partners in neighboring countries, including Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as Iraq and the Kurdistan Region,” Moujani said.

He also outlined the potential scale of the regional market connected through the Iranian Market Trade Network.

“This network brings together 95 million people in Iran, 35 million in Afghanistan, 43 million in Iraq and 240 million in Pakistan, representing a vast market of 413 million people and creating prospects for profitable trade,” he said.

As an example of potential cooperation, Moujani said the embassy had sought to work with Iran’s customs and veterinary authorities to keep one border crossing permanently open to facilitate the rapid transport of live animals from the Caucasus to Iraq.

The initiative would also support quarantine procedures, allowing livestock to transit through Iran and reach Iraq within a day and a half, before being transported to countries in the southern Persian Gulf region, as well as Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

According to Moujani, this route could minimize weight loss among live animals compared with long and time-consuming sea transportation.

The ambassador also said Tehran was consulting relevant Iranian authorities on opening the southern Caspian corridor.

Against the backdrop of climate change and falling Caspian Sea levels, which have restricted maritime freight transportation, Moujani described the route as a safe alternative for transporting cargo from the Far East, including China, and Central Asia to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean via the Caucasus and Türkiye.