TEHRAN - Iran, and Belarus signed an agreement on Wednesday for promoting mutual trade, IRIB reported, quoting the spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration as saying.

According to Rohollah Latifi, the agreement was signed by the Head of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) Mehdi Mirashrafi, and the Chairman of Belarus State Customs Committee Yuri Senko on the sidelines of a World Customs Organization (WCO) event in South Korea.

The agreement was signed in line with the implementation of the free trade agreement between Iran and Eurasia, Latifi said, adding that it is aimed for improving the level of cooperation between the two countries and protect the economic and social interests of both sides.

In the mentioned agreement, several important factors including identifying the two sides’ needs, increasing efficiency, customs control of goods and vehicles in transit between the two countries, have been emphasized.

Belarus for long has been among Iran’s trade partners and the country played a significant role in reaching the trade agreement between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

In late November 2018, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin endorsed a much-awaited agreement for the establishment of a free trade zone between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union thus facilitating the process for the Islamic Republic to join the Moscow-led regional economic block.

The deal was finalized by Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanayee and chief of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Tigran Sarkisyan in a meeting in Moscow in late August and it officially comes into force on October 27. 

The EAEU is comprised of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. It is an international organization created with the aim of encouraging regional economic integration through the free movement of goods, services and people within the union.

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