VZCZCXRO3935
PP RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHDBU #1977 3031235
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 301235Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8940
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1858
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1848
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1785
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 1878
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 1842
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1736
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 1885
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1546
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1558
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 1756
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS 1112
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 1829
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE PRIORITY 0414

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