TEHRAN - Presidential chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi has said that Iran will start economic interaction with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) from October 27.

“Iran’s economic interaction with this union will be started on October 27. In the first phase, 502 items of our commodities will enter the union’s member states with preferential tariff near to zero,” he told ISNA in an interview published on Sunday.

He added, “It is obvious that we should search for new partners and different markets for our products when the country is under sanctions and economic terrorism and when our old economic partners are under pressure by the United States.”

“Being a member of the Eurasia Union is a very good opportunity for our businessmen,” he noted. 

Vaezi also said that Iran’s participation in the Eurasia Union will prove to the U.S. that it has failed to “isolate Iran economically”.

“They imagined that they could make us surrender through imposing maximum pressure and blocking international business to us. However, we have not had let them achieve their objectives in a diplomatic move we have taken in the past months,” he said.

The EEU summit was held in Yerevan, Armenia, on October 1. Iran also attended the conference.

EEU includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.

During a speech at the summit, President Hassan Rouhani called for forming a special task force for joint investment.

“I welcome any kind of financial and banking cooperation with member states to Eurasian Union. So, I suggest the formation of a special task force for joint investment,” Rouhani told the delegates at the EEU summit.

He also noted that Iran supports cooperation within the framework of economic and political blocs such as the EEU, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO).

Elsewhere, he said that the international community must counter the United States’ unilateralism.

“The international community must take a firm decision and also take effective actions to counter the United States’ unilateralism and hostile approach,” Rouhani suggested.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said that important progress has been made at the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) summit and ground has been paved for expansion of regional trade.

“Important progress in Yerevan as Iran joins #EEU Summit, and together with the Member States, ratifies PTA.

With parallel work on North-South & South-West Transit Corridors, ground paved for expansion in regional trade & cementing of our role as a vital transit hub,” Zarif tweeted on October 1.

NA/PA