Iran’s Trade Center in Moscow was inaugurated on Wednesday in the presence of Iranian and Russian officials and businesspeople.
“The Russian market is a desirable destination for Iranian goods, ranging from petrochemical products and minerals to agricultural and food products, construction materials, apparel, iron and steel and industrial machinery,” Bahman Abdollahi, the head of Iran Chamber of Cooperatives, was quoted as saying by ILNA on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony, adding that the trade center will help introduce Iranian goods and services to the Russian market.
Kazem Jalali, Iran’s ambassador in Moscow, said Iran and Russia traded a record high of $4 billion worth of goods in 2021.
Alireza Peymanpak, the head of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran who was also present at the event, said organizing and coordinating joint events and exhibitions, planning visits by trade and business delegations and linking Iranian businesspeople to their Russian counterparts are the main tasks of the trade center.
Concurrent with the opening of the trade center in Moscow, an exclusive Iranian exhibition was inaugurated on the same day (Sept. 7) at the Crocus Expo complex of the Russian capital in the presence of Iranian officials and businesspeople and their Russian counterparts.
Representatives of more than 50 Iranian companies are showcasing their goods and services at the event.
Crocus Expo is among the top 15 exhibition centers in the world and one of the top 10 in Europe. It is the biggest in Eastern Europe.
The Iranian event was held by Iran Cooperative Chamber and licensed by the Trade Promotion Organization. It will run through Sept. 10.
Biggest Russian Business Delegation Due in Tehran
A 125-strong business delegation from 78 Russian companies are scheduled to visit Tehran from Sept. 19 to 21 to meet their Iranian counterparts and survey ways of expanding bilateral cooperation.
Members of the visiting delegation are active in a host of fields, including agriculture, food industries and related machinery, mineral water, beverages, grains, chocolate and pastry, edible oils, fisheries, packaging, health, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, construction materials, glass and crystal, wood industries, auto spare parts, transportation, industrial machinery, metal industries, radio and telecommunication systems, excavation, energy, recycling, advertisement and digital marketing, and education, the news portal of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture reported.
The upcoming visit is part of an agreement between Tehran Chamber of Commerce and the Russian Export Center.
It is expected to be the biggest delegation scheduled to visit Iran.
Businesspeople from chambers of commerce across the country can register to attend the event.
Each Iranian company can register to meet with only five Russian businesses and for 15 minutes each. The Iranian sides are required to name the Russian companies they want to meet with in their registration form.
On Sept. 21, startups and knowledge-based companies have been prioritized to hold talks with their Russian counterparts.
Trade in National Currencies
Iran and Russia have started trading in their national currencies.
The Iranian ambassador in Moscow said recently that entities in the two countries have begun conducting trade in rial and ruble for the first time. The currencies were handled by the Russian Central Bank’s Mir system, IRNA reported.
Russia set up Mir in 2014 in response to sanctions over the conflict with Ukraine.
Iran and Russia have been working toward using their own currencies for business relations for some time. Iranian Economy Minister Ehsan Khandouzi announced in July that the Islamic Republic has officially ditched the US dollar for trade with Russia.
The same month, the Tehran Stock Exchange launched rial-ruble trading.
Iran, like other countries, typically conducts trade in US dollars. Trading with Russia in rial and ruble allows Iran to further bypass the US-dominated global financial system. For example, in 2019, the international financial messaging system SWIFT cut access for most Iranian banks under pressure from Washington.
Some Russian banks were also barred from using SWIFT in February in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The US dollar could be losing a small bit of its dominance in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia and China have also discussed pricing oil deals in yuan instead of the dollar. India also decided last month to allow rupee payments for imports and exports, which could also boost trade with Iran, Al-Monitor reported.
Iran Looking to Join Russia's Mir Payment System
The Central Bank of Iran has entered negotiations to join Russia’s Mir card payment system to improve regional trade and bypass US sanctions.
Officials from the Central Bank of Iran cited by Russia-briefing.com revealed that their collaboration with Russia would enable financial transactions between the two countries via Mir. Building on this, Iran could transfer money with other member countries via this system in the future.
The main candidates for these money transfer partnerships are countries that Iran has a free trade agreement with, including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia, all of which are members of the Eurasian Economic Union.
An alternative to SWIFT, Mir is supported by Russia’s SPFS payment system. There are more than 100 million Mir cards in circulation, about one-third of the total market share, thanks to mandates for use by civil servants and pensioners.
The Mir Pay digital wallet was launched in 2019 and continues to operate on Android devices.
Other countries that have adopted Mir cards and payments include Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkey.
In Turkey’s case, in August 2022, five Turkish banks adopted Russia’s Mir payments system.
According to the Washington Post, Russia has requested several state-owned Turkish banks to allow correspondent accounts for Russia’s biggest banks and that Russian industrial producers be allowed to operate out of free economic zones in Turkey.
Nigeria’s ambassador to Russia, Abdullahi Shehu, has also said that Nigeria and Russia are discussing the possibility of using Mir cards in the African country.
In August 2022, the Russian and Indian governments have gotten closer to an agreement to have cards based on Russia’s Mir payment system be accepted at ATMs and POS in India.
In the same month, in China, the Credit Bank of Moscow and Bank DOM.FR announced that they are preparing to issue UnionPay cards starting with Q1 2023. DOM.RF plans to start issuing UnionPay cards that will be co-branded with the existing Russian Mir cards.
