TEHRAN- During a meeting between Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Head Alireza Peyman-Pak and Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation Anton Kobyakov in Saint Petersburg on Thursday, the two sides stressed the need to expand economic relations between the two countries, the TPO portal reported.

Cooperation in the fields such as automotive, shipping, shipbuilding, activation of the North-South Corridor, banking cooperation and forex exchange, as well as joint production between the mother industries of the two countries were among the topics discussed in this meeting.

Peyman-Pak also stressed Iran's readiness to conclude long-term contracts in the field of fruits and vegetables with the cooperation of the Iran-Russia Chamber of Commerce to stabilize and expand the volume of exports.

Kobyakov, for his part, welcomed the proposal of the TPO head to hold joint exhibitions between Iranian and Russian companies and said that the Russian car industry is ready to cooperate with Iran.

“And Iran could be our trading partner in a market where, according to the Wall Street Journal, the Western companies have left the $100 billion market”, he underlined.

MOU signed to set up an Iran-Russia trade center

During the trip of Peyman-Pak to Russia to attend the 25th Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), running from June 15 to 18, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish an Iran-Russia trade center, under the title Nova-Pars, with its headquarters in St. Petersburg and Tehran, was also inked between the two countries.

The signing ceremony was participated by a number of official from the two sides including Peyman-Pak and Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali.

With the establishment of this center, development of mutual trade between Iran and Russia in the fields of supply of oil and gas equipment, transportation engineering products, machine manufacturing, shipbuilding, electronic equipment, design and construction of energy facilities, establishment of supplied equipment repair base, agriculture, food industry, pharmacy and construction are on the agenda.

Preliminary agreement for joint ship building

During the visit of the TPO head to Russia, the two sides also reached a preliminary agreement for the joint building of ship between Iran and a Russian company.

This agreement was made in order to start joint cooperation to establish the North-South Corridor and transportation in the Caspian Sea.

Based on the agreement, the Russian side undertakes to assist the Iranian side in the joint building of the ship and supply the ships needed by the Islamic Republic as well.

The two sides also agreed on the production of main ship parts in Iran and shipping them to Russia.

On May 25, Director General of the Russian Export Center Veronika Nikishina met with the TPO head and stressed the need for the development of economic relations and the elimination of intermediaries in trade exchanges.

The two sides agreed on preparing a roadmap for joint cooperation and removing customs barriers, amending customs regulations, establishing joint ventures, and boosting financial and banking exchanges and interactions in order to develop trade exchanges between Iran and Russia.

In this meeting, Peyman-Pak underlined the need to provide a clear and online mechanism to introduce companies and businessmen of the two countries to each other.

He also pointed to the exchange of specialized trade delegations and holding joint exhibitions as measures to further promote trade exchanges and added: "After the establishment of the Russian trade office in Iran, Iran seeks to expand its trade offices in Russia as well."

Peyman-Pak also mentioned the Iranian government’s trade policies based on barter trade, saying: "Since we currently have about five billion dollars of barter trade with China, we intend to implement this mechanism with Russia as well."

MA/MA