TEHRAN – Iran and Russia signed several memorandums of understanding (MOUs) to cooperate in various sectors at the end of the two countries' 17th Joint Economic Committee meeting which was held in Tehran during February 26-28.

The MOUs were signed in the presence of the Iranian Oil Minister Javad Oji and Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who co-chaired the mentioned meeting, Shana reported.

Over the three days of the joint committee meeting, Iranian and Russian experts from different economic sectors explored all avenues of cooperation in the form of 20 working groups to prepare the mentioned MOUs and the commission’s comprehensive document.

Iranian Oil Ministry to co-op with Russia’s Transneft on smart tracking technologies

On the sidelines of the two countries Joint Economic Committee meeting on Wednesday, Iran's Deputy Oil Minister for Engineering, Research and Technology Affairs Vahid-Reza Zeydifard met with Transneft’s Deputy Head Kalanda Vladimir Alexandrovich during which the two sides explored areas for mutual cooperation.

According to Zeydifard, the two sides’s cooperation is going to mainly focus on smart tracking technologies of oil and gas pipelines.

Speaking at the meeting, Zeydifard said there are many fields for cooperation between the two sides’ scientific and research centers, such as the Iranian Oil Industry Research Institute and Russian research institutes.

Pointing out that smart monitoring of oil and gas pipelines and student exchange between Iran and Russia are among the main areas of cooperation, he continued: “Currently, Iran's knowledge-based companies have potential capabilities in the field of smart monitoring of pipelines, but due to the expansion of oil and gas pipelines in Iran, we need to cooperate with "Transneft" company in this field as well.”

Alexandrovich for his part emphasized that the goal of his company is to help the projects of Iran's oil industry and not make a profit.

“Iran has many achievements in the oil and gas industry, and our cooperation with this industry is beneficial for both parties,” he said.

Iranian Automakers ready to co-op with Russian counterparts

The Managing Director of Iran’s major automaker Iran Khodro Company (IKCO) has said his company is ready to cooperate with its Russian counterparts.

Speaking to the Head of Russia’s Federal Agency for Technical Regulations and Metrology (Rosstandart) Anton Shalaev, Alimardan Azimi expressed IKCO’s readiness for harmonizing the company’s standards with those of Russia.

Referring to Iran Khodro's plans for exporting vehicles to Russia, Azimi said: “According to the agreements made, the process of exporting Iranian automobile products to Russia is underway. In the first stage, we are going to launch the production line of Tara [an Iranian car] in the Russian market, and I hope to expand cooperation by creating the necessary conditions.”

Shalaev also called for cooperation between the two sides for the development and improvement of the standard in the Russian automobile industry.

Tehran-Moscow launch new airlines

Iran and Russia have also agreed to launch new airlines between the two countries and establish joint ventures to cooperate in the transportation sectors.

According to Iranian Deputy Transport Minister Kamal Hadian-Far, the two sides are also going to sign the deal for completing Iran’s Rasht-Astara railway.

 Iran-Russia gas cooperation planned: envoy

Talking to IRNA on Tuesday, Iran’s Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali said Iran-Russia cooperation in the gas sector has been planned and could lead to good outcomes if implemented.

Jalali pointed to the materialization of the plan to turn Iran into a gas hub in partnership with Russia thanks to the two countries top global positions in terms of gas reserves and production and added, “It was suggested in the past that Tehran and Moscow cannot cooperate in the economic fields, but the comment proved wrong in recent years.”

He said, “When I was departing for Moscow to begin my diplomatic mission, some people told me that Iran and Russia could never cooperate in the economic areas as energy is the pillar of their economy and the two states are rivals in this sector. To me, this is a wrong suggestion as economic cooperation is not limited to the energy sector and the two countries can cooperate in many fields.”

The theory proved wrong in practice, underlined the ambassador, referring to the current cooperation between Iran and Russia in various sectors.

Jalali said, “If the two countries had not faced the five barriers of cognition, transit, logistics, monetary and banking, and customs problems, bilateral relations would have expanded in many areas.”

The Russians made the highest investments in Iran in 2023, the envoy quoted the Economy Ministry as saying, adding the investments have been mainly attracted by the oil industry.

Iran and Russia can also cooperate to export gas, he concluded.

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