TEHRAN - Iran’s first exclusive Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) exhibition, which is a platform to showcase the capabilities of the EAEU members and their Iranian counterparts opened at Tehran Permanent International Fairgrounds on Friday, IRIB reported.

As reported, 30 companies from Russia, 30 companies from Kyrgyzstan, more than 10 companies from Armenia, more than 10 companies from Kazakhstan, and some companies from Belarus are participating in this four-day exhibition along with Iranian companies.

The companies participating in this exhibition are active in the fields of banking and finance, technology transfer, construction of large factories, silos, ports, wharves, oil tanks, shipbuilding, steel, and cement, as well as large sellers of livestock inputs and oil and agricultural products.

On the first day of the event, the members of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) and the Eurasian chambers of commerce held a meeting to exchange views on ways of boosting trade between the two sides.

According to the Managing Director of Iran International Exhibitions Company (IIEC) Hassan Zamani, due to the special conditions created by the coronavirus pandemic in the country, the exhibition is not open for the public and only traders, scholars, and businessmen whose field of work is related to the EAEU are allowed to visit the exhibition.

Iran and Eurasian Economic Union reached a free trade agreement in October 2018 based on which about 862 commodity items were subjected to preferential tariffs.

The interim agreement enabling the formation of a free trade area between Iran and the EAEU was signed on May 17, 2018, and officially came into force on October 27, 2019.

Iran is a very important market in the region and the development of ties with this country is of high significance for the EAEU members.

The free trade agreement between Iran and this union has laid the ground for the expansion of trade ties between the two sides.

The agreement with the bloc has increased Iran’s exports to the EAEU member states significantly, which is a turning point for the Islamic Republic's plans for boosting non-oil exports during the U.S. sanctions.

EF/MA