Iran, EAEU to ratify free trade agreement this month: Russia

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
9 Dec 2023 09:12
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Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak confirms that "a free trade zone" between Iran and Russia is due to be signed soon.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, welcomes Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, left, for talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, December 7, 2023. (AP)

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told Rossiya 1 TV that Iran will sign a free trade agreement with Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member countries in December.

"Several important documents will be signed in the near future. In December - an agreement on a free trade zone between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union, and we will also soon reach a key document - this is an interstate agreement," Novak said.

This comes two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi convened in the Kremlin and held talks over a working lunch.

The two highlighted the need to halt the war on the Gaza Strip and underscored the need for a swift resolution to the escalating situation.

"President Putin and President Raisi discussed in detail the entire chain of trade and economic relations, starting from financial and banking relations and settlements, to which great attention was paid in order to make settlements easier," Novak added.

Since way back when...

Back in January, Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) signed a memorandum on free trade, and the EAEU commissioner for trade, Andrey Slepnev, expected it to be signed into effect soon at the time.

"We held very important negotiations to settle a number of important issues. We are confident that the agreement will be signed in the near future," Slepnev told Sputnik.

The Russian official indicated that the EAEU and Iran are seeking to scrap most tariffs and launch joint projects in such spheres as transport, industry, food production, and finance, pointing out that this will potentially create jobs in both Iran and the EAEU and advance technological innovation.

It is noteworthy that Iran's Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade, Alireza Peyman-Pak, highlighted during an interview with Mehr in late November 2021 that trade turnover between Iran and the EAEU reached $5 billion in 2021 from $2.3 billion in 2015, an increase of around 55%.