Iran, Russia to Remove All Barriers to Developing Bilateral Trade: Deputy PM
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran and Russia have agreed to sign a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union in the near future, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.
"We have also agreed to remove all barriers that exist today on the way of developing bilateral trade. And we are talking about reducing barriers at the borders with third countries. We have agreed to conclude an agreement on a free trade zone between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union in the near future," Novak said during a press conference, following the meeting of the Iran-Russia intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation.
Additionally, Novak said that Iran and Russia saw potential for working together on projects, particularly in the field of car and aircraft building.
"Russia and Iran see opportunities for joint projects in the field of shipbuilding, automobile and aviation construction, and there are already joint projects, agreements between Russian and Iranian companies on organizing the necessary joint ventures and supplying relevant components," he said.
The Russian minister continued by saying that the two nations had already begun exchanging energy resource supplies, particularly petroleum items, and that they had also decided to broaden the range of delivered goods.
In October, Novak stated that Iran and Russia were coordinating the specifics of a swap of oil and gas supply. He anticipated that the swap agreement, which could initially cover 5 million tons of oil and up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas annually, would be signed by the end of 2022.
"Our deliveries of petroleum products have already begun, we have agreed to expand the range of relevant products. This is also a promising area of our joint cooperation," Novak told reporters.
The trade turnover between Russia and Iran increased by 36.4% to $3.3 billion in eight months, Novak said.
"According to the results of eight months of this year, the trade turnover [between Iran and Russia] increased by 36.4% and amounted to $ 3.3 billion," Novak said during a meeting of the Iran-Russia intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation.
The Russian deputy prime minister said that he believes the trade turnover will soon amount to $4 billion, as it is growing at a record pace.