Rasht, Iran, Sept. 19
By Temkin Jafarov, Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran expressed readiness for re-launching the Baku- Anzali shipping line to boost mutual ties.
Speaking to Azerbaijani reporters on Sept. 19 in Iran's northern city of Rasht, Reza Masrour, head of the Anzali Trade-Industrial Free Zone organization said that re-establishing the line will lead to expansion of ties between Iran and Azerbaijan in various fields, in particular tourism.
Masrour also encouraged Azerbaijani investors to invest in Anzali Free Zone, saying Islamic Republic offers tax breaks for Azerbaijani businessmen who invest in the zone. He went on to add that there is no limitation for Azerbaijani investors in terms of ownership.
"Possibility of 100 percent foreign ownership is the zone's advantage for investors," Masrour noted.
He also stressed that there are no tax and duties for raw materials and machineries imported for productions manufacturing in the zone. The investors can take their capital of the zone whenever they want, the official stressed.
While responding a question about the Azerbaijani investors in the zone, Masrour said that for the time being, they mainly are active in the industry sector of the zone however, some Azerbaijanis also are cooperating with Iranian businessmen in trade sector.
He said that a delegation of businessmen from Anzali is scheduled to visit Baku in November to recognize Azerbaijan's economic potentials.
Anzali Free Zone is located in the south of Caspian Sea and includes industrial, trade and commercial, tourism and services sections.
Iran exported 258,000 tons of goods, worth $142 million, from Anzali Free Trade Zone during the Iranian calendar year of 1391 (ended March 20, 2013), some 95 percent more than in the previous year.
According to the Iranian officials most trade exchanges from Anzali Free Trade Zone were made by Caucasian, East European, Latin American and North American countries as well as those bordering the Gulf and the Caspian Sea.
