Azernews.Az

By Vusala Abbasova

Iran intends to export dairy products and poultry to Russia as part of the 6th five-year development program for the 2016-2020 period.

Currently, the food safety and quality monitoring services of both countries are discussing the possibilities of signing a joint protocol on supplying of Iranian dairy products and chicken meat to the Russian market, said Iranian Deputy Minister of Agriculture Hassan Rockne at the recent conference dedicated to the 60th anniversary of Iran's poultry industry.

Russian specialists have visited a number of Iranian farming enterprises that are engaged in dairy production.

This procedure was needed as final confirmation of Russia’s readiness to import the products from Iran.

Rockne stressed the importance of the development program for the country, as it will provide for the export of 10 percent of the high-protein products produced in the country.

He also said that Iran has exported 43,000 tons of eggs over the first half of the current year, adding that 75 percent of the product was exported to neighboring Iraq, 15-20 percent to Afghanistan, while the rest was exported to several countries of the Persian Gulf and neighboring countries like Turkmenistan, Georgia, and others.

The five-year program also impacts the Iranian tourism industry, the revenues from which are expected to increase by 6 times to about $40 billion a year.

Taking into account the tourist potential of the country, this figure is quite real, said Member of the Commission of Tourism of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture Mahmoud Najaf Arab in a recent interview with ISNA.

Tourism can provide high foreign exchange earnings and at the same time could contribute to the development of culture and employment, which satisfies the interests of the country.

Arab also noted that about 5 million travellers visit Iran annually, including those who come into the country for religious and medical tourism.

The number of tourists over the next five years should grow to 25 million per year, according to the five-year development program.

Currently, tourism accounts for about $6.5-7 billion a year in revenues. This opens opportunities for further development in terms of religious, medical, and ecotourism.

Before the Iranian revolution, the government designed and implemented several five-year and seven-year economic plans.

These plans mainly focused on private and public sector interactions, their investment requirements, structural reforms, and stabilization policies to achieve sustainable economic growth.

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