Iranian President to Visit Armenia for EAEU Summit
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will travel to Yerevan on Monday to attend a summit of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
Heading a high-ranking political and economic delegation, Rouhani is going to visit Armenia at the official invitation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the president's deputy chief of staff for communications and information, Parviz Esmaeili, announced Sunday.
He said Rouhani is planned to give an address to the EAEU summit in Yerevan on Tuesday to outline Iran’s capabilities and great potential for trade with the Eurasian Economic Union.
The Iranian president will also hold meetings with senior Armenian officials to discuss Tehran-Yerevan ties and the latest status of implementation of bilateral agreements and joint projects, Esmaeili added.
Rouhani is also scheduled to meet a number of foreign leaders taking part in the summit on the sidelines of the event for talks about major issues of mutual interest, as well as regional and international issues, he added.
In June, the Iranian parliament ratified an agreement that allows the administration to join a free trade zone with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries.
The agreement, signed in Kazakhstan in May 2018, sets the main rules of trade between the EAEU, Iran and those of the World Trade Organization (WTO), of which Iran is not a member.
The free trade zone is planned to be in effect for four years, under which the EAEU will grant Iran tariff concessions on more than 500 items.
Russia’s State Duma and the Federation Council had ratified the agreement to establish Iran-EAEU free trade zone in November 2018.
The Eurasian Economic Union includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. Iran and EAEU members started to develop the agreement on the free trade in 2015, though the signing was postponed several times.