TEHRAN – Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) has hosted a workshop for the country’s businessmen to review the challenges and opportunities of trade with Russia and to make them more acquainted with the mentioned market.

As reported by the TPO portal, held on July 20, the workshop was attended by senior officials from Iran and Russia and also a handful of Iranian businessmen interested in trade with Russia.

TPO Head Alireza Peyman-Pak, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali, Director-General of the TPO's Office of Central Asia, Caucasus, and Russia Rahmatollah Khormali, Director-General of International Cooperation Department of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) Hossein Kakhaki, Director of Astrakhan’s Lotus Special Economic Zone Sergey Milushkin, and Russian Trade Representative in Iran Rustam Zhiganshin were among the speakers of the mentioned workshop.

Speaking at the gathering, Peyman-Pak mentioned Russia’s annual trade turnover with the world, noting that the Russian Federation used to import over $80 billion worth of commodities from the west and other European countries that have currently sanctioned Russia, so a great opportunity has been presented for Iranian businessmen to seize.

“Russia is a big market that Iranian businessmen now have the opportunity to benefit from, but unfortunately, Iran's share of Russia’s $232 billion annual imports has been only $580 million,” Peyman-Pak said.

Referring to the holding of numerous meetings with Russian economic and trade delegations in Iran and Russia, the official said: “Trade Promotion Organization has put several important factors on the agenda for the development of trade with Russia, among which market development is the most important.”

Market development means creating mechanisms on the basis of which Iranian and Russian businessmen can establish a proper relationship with each other, he said.

“The goal is to identify the main features and opportunities of the Russian market while providing an opportunity for major Russian traders to get to know their Iranian counterparts,” the official added.

According to the TPO head, the second important factor for expanding trade with Russia is participation in Russian exhibitions and trade events.

“In September, a specialized exhibition of Iranian products and services will be held in Russia. Also, other specialized exhibitions such as auto parts are being organized. Our plan is to have a specialized pavilion in all international exhibitions that are going to be held in Russia,” Peyman-Pak said.

The official pointed to the joint use of business platforms as the third vital factor for trade development and continued: “If we want to expand an Iranian platform in Russia, a lot of investment will be needed. We tried to establish the connection between Iranian and Russian platforms by preparing contracts and providing the conditions for cooperation between the two sides. In this way, business processes will be facilitated.”

He underlined the final factor as the development of trade relations and said: “The Russian trade expansion center has been activated in Iran. Also, permission to establish an Iranian trade center in Russia has been issued and Iran Chamber of Cooperatives (ICC) is in charge of establishing this center which is going to help Iranian businessmen in the field of currency transfer, insurance, and legal services, financial exchanges, business communication and all measures needed by businessmen to export and import goods.”

EF/MA