According to a release from the Kazakhstan Prime Minister, officials from Iran and Kazakhstan met on 27 January 2023 for the 18th Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical, and Cultural Cooperation between the two countries. Among other things, the two sides agreed to begin negotiations for an amending protocol to the 1996 tax treaty between the two countries. Any resulting protocol would be the first to amend the treaty and must be finalized, signed, and ratified before entering into force.