President Hassan Rouhani said Iran is determined to expand relations with the Eurasian Economic Union and engage in preferential trade with its member states.
The president made the announcement in a meeting between high-ranking Iranian and Kyrgyz delegations in Bishkek, which was also attended by his Kyrgyz counterpart, Almazbek Atambayev, President.ir reported.
Rouhani returned to Tehran on Friday evening from the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, which was the final leg of a three-nation tour that also took him to two other EEU members, Armenia and Kazakhstan. Russia and Belarus are other members of the union.
The Iranian president said the two countries have decided to remove all obstacles to closer cooperation and prepare the ground for increased contacts between the two countries’ businessmen.
Stressing the need for strengthening banking connections, Rouhani said “increased investment and trade depends on good banking relations”.
Rouhani said Tehran is ready to share its anti-terror experience with the Central Asian country and work with it to propagate “real Islam”, as the spread of terrorism and extremism has created major problems for the region.
Atambayev said Bishkek will make efforts to pave the way for closer economic interactions with Tehran and that it supports increased Iran-EEU trade, as it will help enhance the strength of the union.
The Kyrgyz president called for increased bilateral cooperation against terrorism, extremism, organized crime and drug trafficking.
Later in the day, the two leaders oversaw the signing of five agreements for cooperation in various sectors.
The two sides also published a 10-year roadmap for expansion of cooperation, which includes politics, trade, energy, industries, transport, telecommunications and agriculture.
Rouhani-Nazarbayev Meeting
Rouhani earlier visited Kazakhstan’s capital Astana and met with his Kazakh counterpart, Nursultan Nazarbayev, on Thursday.
During a meeting of high-ranking delegations from the two sides, Rouhani said Iranian private firms are eager to implement projects in Kazakhstan, particularly in the fields of energy, agriculture, construction and engineering.
Nazarbayev hailed Iran as Kazakhstan’s “most important friend in the Muslim world”, adding that Astana supports increased collaboration between the private sectors of the two countries.
During the visit, Rouhani announced that the two sides have decided to eliminate visa requirements for businesspeople by February 2017.
The two countries also signed five memoranda of understanding and cooperation agreements on shipping, tourism, labor and social welfare.
On Wednesday morning, the president arrived at the first destination, Armenia’s capital Yerevan, where he sat down for talks with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan. Tehran and Yerevan signed five cooperation documents in different fields, including trade, tourism, sports and culture.
