Skip to main content

Russian-backed union signs free trade pact with Iran

1 min Mena Today

Members of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) have signed a fully-fledged free trade agreement with Iran, Russia's economy ministry and the EEU said on Monday.

Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov, Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via Reuters

Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov, Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via Reuters

Members of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) have signed a fully-fledged free trade agreement with Iran, Russia's economy ministry and the EEU said on Monday.

The agreement will become permanent and replace a similar temporary pact in force since 2019. The previous deal facilitated mutual trade with Iran and increased it to $6.2 billion in 2022 from $2.4 billion in 2019.

The Eurasian Economic Union comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.

Both the region and Iran have taken on additional significance for the Kremlin after Western sanctions over Moscow's conflict in Ukraine limited Russia's foreign trade routes and forced it to look for markets outside Europe.

The new deal will eliminate customs duties on almost 90% of goods, while the agreement establishes a preferential regime for almost all trade between Russia and Iran.

Russian Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said the deal would allow Russian business to save around 27 billion roubles ($294 million) each year.

($1 = 91.9825 roubles)

Reporting by Reuters, writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Barbara Lewis

Tags

Related

Iran

Blast caused by gas leak injures 7 in Iranian city of Qom

An explosion at a residential building injured seven people in the Iranian city of Qom, Iranian state media reported on Monday, with the fire department blaming a gas leak and Qom's governor ruling out any "terrorist" action.

Iran

Iran says it will work with IAEA but inspections may be risky

Iran plans to cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog despite restrictions imposed by its parliament, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Saturday, while stressing that access to its bombed nuclear sites posed security and safety issues.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Mena banner 4

To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.

  • Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.