Russia ranked first among foreign investors in the economy of Iran, with about 60% of settlements between the countries made in the national currencies, Head of the Iran-Russia Joint Chamber of Commerce Hadi Tizhoush Taban said.
"Russia has become the largest foreign investor in Iran, investing $2.7 billion in two Iranian oil projects. This is about 45% of the total foreign investment in the Iranian economy from October 2021 to January 2023," he told IRNA. According to Tizhoush Taban, about 60% of settlements between Russia and Iran are made in the national currencies, with the ruble accounting for 40% of the payments.
"Russian projects in Iran are diverse and include energy, railroads, automobile industry, agriculture, while Iran supplies food and automobile products to Russia in parallel," Tizhoush Taban added.
As he noted, after the Ukrainian conflict broke out, Western countries imposed sanctions against Moscow, which can be compared to the restrictions against Tehran. "As a result, interest in cooperation between the two countries increased even more," he stressed.
In January 2023, Chairman of the Central Bank of Iran Mohammad Farzin said that Russia and Iran had signed a cooperation agreement on facilitating financial and banking transactions between the two countries. The topic of bilateral settlements was also raised during the visit of Head of the Central Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina to Tehran on May 23. On May 19, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia Dmitry Volvach reported that the volume of foreign trade turnover between Russia and Iran in 2022 increased by 20% compared with the previous year, up to $5 billion.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Federation Council
Based on materials from TASS