Cheema - India-Iran relations: progress, problems and prospects

The following is the text of the Communiqu issued on June 21, 1969 at the conclusion of the first meeting of the Joint Indo-Iran Commission for Economic, Trade and Technical Cooperation held in Tehran:

In pursuance of the agreement reached between the Governments of Iran and India on the occasion of His Imperial Majestys visit to India in January, 1969, to broaden and deepen the economic relations between the two countries, the first meeting of the Joint Indo-Iran Commission for Economic, Trade and Technical Cooperation was held in Tehran from June 18 to 21, 1969. The Iranian delegation was led by the Iranian Minister of Economy, His Excellency Mr A. N. Alikhani, and the Indian delegation was led by the Minister of External Affairs, Shri Dinesh Singh.

The principal objectives, the Commission has set before itself, include joint studies of resources, endorsements and requirements to reinforce economic growth, trade expansion, cooperation in different sectors of their respective national economies, contacts between the financial, industrial and commercial institutions, exchange of specialists, provision of training facilities and materialization of plans for mutually beneficial endeavours. The Commission will take steps to ensure coordinated implementation of recommendations and decisions made from time to time. To this end, the Commission appointed a high level Coordinating and Implementation Committee and also set up a Joint Working Group and a Committee each on Petrochemicals and Petroleum, Industries, Trade, Transport and Technical Cooperation. The terms of reference of the Joint Working Group and the Committees have been settled. These Committees will be meeting over the coming months and their convenors, who have been nominated, will keep in contact with each other. In the field of industrial cooperation, it has been agreed that possibilities exist for developing cooperation to mutual advantage in certain sectors of industrial production on the basis of their respective resources and capabilities. These possibilities will be studied in depth by the Committees on Petrochemicals and Petroleum and on Industries. Meanwhile, the National Petrochemical Company of Iran and the Fertilizer Corporation of India will work out a techno-economic report for setting up a joint venture in Iran for the production of ammonia, the greater part of which will be used in the production of fertilizers in India. Similarly, the Industrial Development and Renovation Organisation of Iran and the Indian Railway Board will explore the possibilities of collaborating with each other for setting up a plant for the manufacture of railway wagons in Iran. The concerned Iranian and Indian parties are also in contact with each other for setting up manufacturing capacity for the fabrication of transmission towers in Iran.

The Commission noted that there are many proposals in various stages of negotiations between Iranian and Indian parties for the establishment of Joint ventures in the private sector and recommended that appropriate facilities be provided by the two Governments for the expeditious completion of these negotiations. It was also agreed that the Director of Investment Promotion Section in the Iranian Ministry of Economy and the Director of the Overseas Joint Venture Cell in the Indian Department of Foreign Trade will cooperate in providing information on procedures and possibilities for the setting up of the joint ventures and in facilitating their establishment. The Iranian Small Scale Industries and Industrial Estates and the Development Commissioner for Small Scale Industries of India will, it was agreed, cooperate with each other in facilitating the development and establishment in Iran of small scale industries, including estates.

In the field of commercial cooperation, while India will be facilitating the purchase of ammonia, sulphur and phosphoric acid from Iran, Iran will likewise be facilitating the purchase from India of steel products, including. billets, certain chemicals, other intermediates, railway and other equipment, spares, etc.

The Committee on Trade will be exploring other possibilities for the expansion of trade exchanges between the two countries. To facilitate the envisaged expansion, it was agreed that direct contacts will be established between the Federation of Iranian Chambers of Commerce and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries. The possibilities of Cooperation between Iranian and Indian banking systems to provide efficient support for closer economic cooperation are also proposed to be explored by the Central Bank of Iran and the Reserve Bank of India. In the field of transport, attention was focussed on practical ways and means to improve railway transportation facilities. The concerned organisations in the two countries will cooperate to this end. The Commission was of the view that the development of transport facilities would be of interest not only to the two countries but also to other neighbouring countries. Questions relating to the utilisation and improvement of transit facilities would be examined by the Committee on Transport at its next meeting.

In the field of technical cooperation, the responsibility for assisting the recruitment of technical personnel, deputation of experts and provision of training facilities was entrusted on the Iranian side to the International Relations Office of the Plan Organisation and on the Indian side to the Economic Division of the Ministry of External Affairs. It was also agreed that the two sides will cooperate in utilizing their respective technical, designs and consultancy services for the benefit of their economies. In the field of tourism and hotel industry, the Tourist Organisation of Iran and the Indian Directorate General of Tourism will hold a joint meeting in Tehran to explore possibilities and promote appropriate facilities.

The second meeting of the Joint Commission will be held in New Delhi in December 1969, on a date to be agreed upon between the two sides.

During the course of the visit of the Indian Delegation, His Imperial Majesty the Shahanshah Aryamehr received in audience Shri Dinesh Singh, the Indian Minister of External Affairs. There was also fruitful exchange of views between His Excellency Mr Ardeshir Zahedi, the Foreign Minister of Iran and the Minister of External Affairs of India. It was felt that the work of the Joint Commission would promote progress and prosperity of the two countries, add new dimensions to age-old ties between them and contribute to the peace, progress and stability in the region as a whole.

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