IRAN HAWKS WARES IN TAJIKISTAN

UNCLAS DUSHANBE 001977 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ECIN ECON EFIN ENRG PREL TBIO TI SUBJECT: IRAN HAWKS WARES IN TAJIKISTAN ¶1. (U) Summary: Iran staged a business exhibition in Dushanbe October 27-30 with over 40 Iranian companies participating. The well-attended exhibition featured building materials, engineering consulting services, consumer goods, medical equipment, furniture, pharmaceuticals, and other goods. Exhibitors displayed a model 26-story office and living complex they plan to build in Dushanbe, further evidence of the flowering economic cooperation between Iran and Tajikistan. End Summary. ¶2. (U) The second annual event was co-sponsored by the Mashhad International Exhibition Company and Tajikistan's Chamber of Commerce and Industry. According to official press materials, the exhibit included building materials, prefabricated partitions, tile, concrete, ceramic, industrial machines, as well as technical and engineering consulting services, consumer goods, equipment for small hydropower plants, home appliances, medical equipment, furniture, stationery products, and pharmaceuticals. EmbOffs also saw tractors, chemical fertilizers, and food processing equipment on display. ¶3. (U) According to an interview with Tajik Ambassador to Iran Ramazon Mirzoyev, the 26-story complex called Burji Sulh (Tower of Peace) will begin construction in December. The first seven floors of the complex will house offices, conference rooms and shops. The other 16 floors will be apartments and the 25th floor will house a revolving restaurant, according to Mirzoyev. A Tajik-Iranian joint venture Somon Sabo and the United Arab Emirates company Al-Taufiq will fund and construct the building for an estimated USD 30 to 35 million. Exhibitors claim the river bank construction site is the most seismically stable location in Dushanbe. ¶4. (U) According to Sharif Saidov, head of Tajikistan's Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI),50 enterprises with Iranian investments operate in Tajikistan. According to Tajikistan's State Committee for Statistics, trade between Tajikistan and Iran over the first nine months 2006 increased by 36.3 percent to USD 65.8 million. While this represents a small percentage of Tajikistan's overall USD 2.23 billion trade turnover, Iran's participation in the construction of the Sangtuda II hydropower plant has greatly increased the goodwill between the two countries. ¶5. (SBU) Iranian exhibitors warmly welcomed EmbOffs at each exhibit, offering cookies, drinks, glossy brochures, and CD-ROM catalogs. Many companies were seeking entry into the Tajik market for the first time. Iran's largest fertilizer company, Golsan Gorgan, makes over 80 different products, and is also the distributor for the U.S. company "U.S. Agriseeds" for all Central Asia. A construction company representative said that reconstruction projects after the Iran-Iraq war had kept them busy within Iran, but now they were looking for work in other countries. One exhibitor said it is easy for Iranian companies to receive export licenses to sell to other countries. Several exhibitors told EmbOffs that the Iranian Embassy in Tajikistan is not helping them do business here. ¶6. (SBU) Comment. Many of the Iranian representatives seemed very pleased to meet with Americans, and several expressed a desire to separate politics from business. With the Tajiks, however, the Iranian exhibition appeared to be strictly business. End Comment. JACOBSON