Russia-Iran trade hits record high: Russian envoy to Iran

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
9 Feb 22:03

Russian diplomat Alexei Dedov said that prospects for further growth are likewise anticipated for the year 2023.

In this Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018 photo, bodies of cars go through an assembly line at the Iran Khodro automobile manufacturing plant, just outside Tehran, Iran (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Russia's ambassador to Tehran Alexei Dedov told reporters on Thursday that trade relations between Russia and Iran have reached a record high of $4.6 billion in 2022, a stark increase of 15% compared to the year prior.

The Russian diplomat added that prospects for further growth are likewise anticipated for the year 2023.

"Record trade figures for 2022 are largely due to the fruitful agricultural cooperation between Russian and Iranian companies. Agri-food accounts for about 85% of our trade," Dedov said, noting that the numbers for the year 2022 were not final and that upward revisions are still ongoing.

"Judging by where we stand politically and economically, we obviously expect bilateral trade to keep growing," Dedov said about prospects for growth in 2023.

Russian exports mainly consist of cereals and oilseeds, timber, non-organic chemicals, machine-building equipment, paper, and cardboard.

Iran, on the other hand, exports fruits, vegetables, nuts, dairy, plastics, ferrous metal products, plumbing, and construction materials.

Dedov stated that Iran Khodro intends to deliver the 2,000 cars to Russia by the end of March in an interview with Sputnik.

Dedov said that Iran Khodro is presently working on its largest program, which calls for the delivery of 2,000 automobiles to Russia by the end of the Iranian calendar year 1401, or March 20, 2023.

The envoy also mentioned SAIPA, another Iranian automaker, which is negotiating with Russian distributors to export more than 20,000 cars to that nation each year.

Dedov underlined that the challenges around acquiring certifications and establishing a network of dealerships have not yet been resolved, which may modify the delivery date despite the current negotiations. Additionally, he mentioned that Iran and Russia are in talks to produce automobiles and auto parts together.

On January 16, reports revealed that Russia and Iran are discussing the possibility of the two parties expanding their cooperation to include the cryptocurrency sector as Moscow and Tehran mull developing a joint gold-backed stablecoin.

Reports about this cooperation came out after the Executive Director of the Russian Association of the Crypto Industry and Blockchain, Alexander Brazhnikov, told Russian media that the Iranian Central Bank was considering the joint creation of a cryptocurrency with Russia as a form of payment for international transactions.

According to Brazhnikov, the coin would be gold-back, which would help against volatility, noting that it would be usable in Astrakhan, which is a free-trade zone where Russia started accepting Iranian goods.

Earlier today, Sputnik reported that Russia and Iran are studying the mechanism for using digital currencies for export-import transactions, stressing that a regulatory framework is required.

"The use of digital currencies and digital financial assets in settlements for export-import operations are being considered by both Russia and Iran. However, the process of reaching any specific agreements is still at the working stage," Dedov said.

He stated that the subject necessitates extensive expert research, including the creation of the required legislative framework.