Iran and Russia signed nine memoranda of understanding in the fields of economy, transportation, trade promotion, banking and gas during the 13th session of Iran-Russia Economic Commission held in Tehran on Tuesday.
The MoUs were signed in the presence of Iran’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi and Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak, who co-chair the event, Mehr News Agency reported.
An MoU was signed between Export Insurance Agency of Russia, EXIAR, and Iran’s private sector and another one between Iran National Standards Organization and the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology of Russia.
Gazprom Neft, a subsidiary of the Russian gas giant Gazprom, a large public joint stock company, signed a cooperation agreement with the National Iranian Gas Company. Another document was signed between the two countries’ industry ministries aimed at further developing the Iran-Russia industrial roadmap.
Two other MoUs were signed on Russia’s financing of Iran’s thermal power plant projects and electrifying the €1.2 billion Garmsar-Sari-Gorgan-Incheh Borun rail project. As per the preliminary agreement reached last November, the electric locomotives for the railroad will be manufactured inside Iran and in cooperation with Iranian firms.
The chambers of commerce of Iran and Russia as well as Iran-Russia Commercial Committee also signed agreements during the event.
The ninth MoU was signed on the conclusion of the joint commission.
“Bilateral trade between Iran and Russia this year shows an 80% increase compared with last year,” said Novak.
According to Vaezi, the two sides vowed to raise bilateral trade to an ambitious rate of $40 billion per year based on a roadmap devised on the final day.
According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, Iran exported 150,000 tons of non-oil goods worth $86.5 million to Russia during the seven months to October 21, down 6% in value compared with last year’s corresponding period.
Food supplements, fruits and vegetables, raisins, dates, tomato paste, pistachios, carpets, petrochemicals and cement were among the main exports.
Some 890,000 tons of goods worth $1.1 billion were imported from Russia to Iran during the period, registering a rise of 235% in value year-on-year. Imports mainly included electronic devices, grains, corn fodder, wood, paper and vehicles.
A forum on expanding bilateral economic and commercial cooperation was also held on the sidelines of the Joint Economic Commission in Tehran, in which 300 Russian business people representing 180 companies discussed enhancement of bilateral trade, support for joint projects and non-oil exports and development of industrial, banking, energy, technical and scientific cooperation with their Iranian counterparts.
The previous meeting of the joint commission was held in Moscow on November 12, 2015, where several agreements on energy, maritime and banking cooperation were signed.
Around 280 Russian organizations and companies, and 60 representatives from Iran’s public and private sectors held meetings on the sidelines of the joint commission from November 10-12, 2015.
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