TEHRAN- A group of entrepreneurs from Russia visited Amirabad port, in Iran’s northern Mazandaran province, on Saturday to invest in the production of oil products.

The Director General of Amirabad Maritime and Ports Department Mohammad-Ali Musapour-Gorji said on the sidelines of the visit that considering the location of Amirabad port in various fields of investment, a Russian company announced its readiness to invest in this port in the field of oil products production.

Foreign investment in ports is considered one of the important goals of the government and organization in line with the development of the sea-oriented economy, which, in addition to attracting investors and generating income, will also contribute greatly to the transfer of technology and job creation, he added.

Elaborating on the capacities and introducing the capabilities of Amirabad Port, which benefits from various transportation sectors, he urged the domestic and foreign investors to invest in Amirabad Port by presenting related plans for maritime and port activities.

Amirabad Port, located to the east of the Caspian Sea in Iran’s province of Mazandaran, is currently working with only 30 percent of its operating capacity.

In mid-June, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak said that the volume of trade between Russia and Iran increased by 48 percent in the first three months of 2024 compared to the same period last year.

According to the results of the first quarter of 2024, Russia's exports to Iran have increased by 77 percent and the country's imports from Iran have increased by 13 percent, Novak said in his meeting with Iranian Petroleum Minister Javad Oji.

He also referred to the launch of direct flights between Grozny and Tehran on June 10, 2024, which will be carried out by Iran's Mahan Air.

I am confident that it will increase the flow of tourists between Iran and the North Caucasus regions, he stressed.

The value of Iran’s exports to Russia rose 26 percent in the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19), as compared to the preceding year.

Some 2.185 million tons of products worth $946 million were exported to Russia in the previous Iranian year, while a year earlier the Islamic Republic had exported only 1.436 million tons of goods valued at $751 million to the country.

According to official data, Iran’s exports to Russia also increased by 56 percent in terms of weight during the previous year.

Agricultural products, petrochemicals, and oil-based products were the top exported products to Russia in the mentioned year.

The imports also grew by nine percent in terms of value and 27 percent in terms of weight.

In line with the two countries’ determination to increase the level of trade exchanges, during a video conference meeting between the deputy transport ministers of Iran and Russia on November 28, 2023, the two sides discussed ways of increasing annual transit through Iran to 10 million tons.

In this virtual meeting, the two sides discussed transportation cooperation between the two countries in all areas including rail, road, and sea.

The two sides have been taking serious steps to boost their mutual trade over the past few years.

In late January, late President Raisi said that the Islamic Republic and Russia have reached an agreement to boost the trade between the two countries up to $10 billion.

“We agreed to remove trade barriers and boost the economic exchanges between the two countries. Currently, the level of mutual trade is not acceptable, so the two countries agreed to increase trade to $10 billion a year,” Raisi said on January 21, upon arrival to Tehran after a two-day visit to Moscow.

As major players in the world and West Asia’s political and economic scene, Iran and Russia have been expanding political and economic ties for many years, however, the relations between the two countries have entered a whole new level over the past few months.

The imposition of sanctions on both countries has been a major factor in bringing the two sides closer together, making them a strong alliance against U.S. pressures. Over the past few months, senior officials from the two sides have been meeting and visiting each other to consolidate bilateral cooperation in various fields, including energy, oil, gas, and transit, as well as diplomatic and political relations.

Earlier this month, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Mohammadreza Farzin said a monetary contract has been signed between Tehran and Moscow for carrying out bilateral trade exchanges.

Farzin told reporters that he and his Russian counterpart had a meeting in Saint Petersburg last Thursday where they finalized agreements already signed between the two countries.

During the meeting, the chief bankers of Iran and Russia also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on joint measures to be taken by the two countries for the expansion of economic and monetary ties.

According to Farzin the new monetary contract enables Iran and Russia to trade in local currencies.

He added that based on agreements between the specialized delegations of the two countries, Iran’s Shetab banking system will link Russia’s MIR interbank system by the end of August.

The official said that the new scheme would allow Iranian nationals to take ruble from Russian ATMs using their Iranian banking cards.

"During the meeting, the two sides finalized the requirements to connect Russia’s Mir payment system to Iran’s Shetab and this project has entered the operational phase," Farzin said.

He added that the scheme will further develop in the next phases to allow Russian nationals to use their banking cards in Iranian ATMs and will then enable using Iranian cards at the Russian poses.

"The second stage [involves the possibility of] paying with Russian citizens’ cards in Iran," Farzin said, adding that in the third stage, Iranians will be able to pay with a Shetab card in Russian stores via an ordinary bank terminal.

In April 2024, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that the project to use Mir cards had entered the implementation stage. In May 2022, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that the countries were discussing how to connect the Mir and Shetab payment systems.

MA