TEHRAN- Political pressures and other countries’ interferences will not stop implementation of the trade agreement between Iran and Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the minister for trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission stressed on Sunday.

Veronika Nikishina made the remarks during a seminar on Iran’s trade and cooperation with Eurasia organized by Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) and held at Tehran Permanent International Fairgrounds attended by senior officials from the both sides, Mehr news agency reported.

The EAEU’s minister of trade further expressed the willingness of the union’s member states’ businesspeople for trade with Iran and said, “They were interested in trade with Iran even when there was not such a trade agreement on reduction of tariffs, in a way that the exports of Iranian products to these countries rose 27 percent in 2018.”

The temporary free trade agreement between Iran and EAEU can be turned into a permanent one after three years, she commented.

The trade agreement between Iran and EAEU officially came into force on October 27.

Based on this agreement, about 840 commodity items are subject to preferential tariffs, which means tariffs on some goods are reduced and for some commodities tariffs are levied.

“EAEU members are prepared to expand economic and trade relations with Iran and their cooperation with this country is promising”, Nikishina has previously noted.

Iran is a very important market in the region and development of ties with this country is of high significance for the EAEU members, the official underscored and said that signing a free trade agreement between Iran and this union has laid the ground for the expansion of cooperation.

“We believe that trade ties with Iran should be increased and all sides should benefit from the created condition”, Nikishina commented.

Iran a reliable partner for EAEU

Addressing the same seminar, Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian, who is the chairman of Iran-Russia Joint Economic Committee, said his country is a reliable trade partner for EAEU, IRNA reported.

The minister mentioned Iran’s location as a linking path for the Persian Gulf states and the country’s enjoying huge resources of energy, and said Iran is the way of access to a large market.

“Iran and EAEU reached the free trade agreement after several years of negotiations and we are planning for the permanent agreement after three years”, the official stressed.

Dollar should be omitted from Iran-EAEU trades

Stressing the requirement for deleting dollar from trades between Iran and EAEU member countries and using the national currencies instead, Iranian deputy industry minister said Iran has already started deleting dollar in trade with some countries including Russia and it could boost trade transactions rapidly.

Making the remarks during the seminar on Iran’s trade with Eurasia, Hossein Modares Khiabani also said that the value of trade between Iran and this union can boost to over $30 billion through establishment of required infrastructures in banking, insurance, customs and transportation sectors.

MA/MA

Photo: EAEU Minister of Trade (2nd R) and TPO Head Hamid Zadboum (3rd R) in a seminar on Iran’s trade and cooperation with Eurasia held in Tehran on Sunday