TEHRAN- The minister in charge of trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) said that the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)’s cooperation with Iran is actively expanding in various fields, and trade between the two sides has doubled over the past four years.

Andrey Slepnev also said that trade between the union and the Islamic Republic of Iran rose 22 percent in 2022.

The important thing is that bilateral trade exchanges are balanced, that is, almost as much as the Eurasian Economic Union supplies goods to Iran, Iran also exports goods to the member countries of this union, the official noted.

Emphasizing that the EAEU attaches great value to Iranian goods, the minister in charge of trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission said: "Agricultural products now account for 75 percent of the trade exchanges of this union with Iran."

“Industrial goods have a special place in the framework of cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Union and Iran, and therefore, we are developing trade exchanges in the field of minerals, industries and chemicals”, he added.

Slepnev further expressed his hope that the trade exchanges of the parties will expand in the field of machinery.

Back in mid-June, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksey Overchuk said that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Eurasian and Economic Union are close to concluding a long-awaited free trade agreement (FTA) and the FTA could go operational this year.

Signing the free trade agreement between Iran, Russia, and several countries, which covers a large area of Eurasia from the borders of Eastern Europe to China, will be possible by the end of this year, Overchuk told TASS.

“We are moving forward and very much hope that such an agreement will be signed by the end of the year,” the Russian official stressed.

Earlier in May, Overchuk had said that EAEU may strike a deal on a free trade zone with Iran earlier than with other countries.

In the same month, Eurasian Economic Commission Trade Minister Andrey Slepnev also said that the agreement on a free trade zone between the EAEU and Iran could be signed as early as this year.

The Eurasian Economic Union was established in 2015 at the initiative taken by Russian Federation, Kazakhstan and Belarus.

Afterward, the Republic of Armenia and Kyrgyzstan joined the Union.

Iran and EAEU reached a preferential trade agreement in 2018 based on which about 862 commodity items are currently subject to preferential tariffs.

The agreement came into effect on October 27, 2019.

MA

Photo: Eurasian Economic Commission Trade Minister Andrey Slepnev