Russia and Iran are stepping up trade and economic cooperation amid sanctions pressure. In the first half of the year, bilateral trade turnover increased by 44.9% compared to January-July 2021 and amounted to $2.8 billion. According to the Russian Federal Customs Service, Russia's mutual trade with Iran was also growing in 2021: 81.4% compared to 2020 - from $2.2 billion to $4 billion.
The countries have repeatedly declared that they intend to strengthen economic cooperation. In order to fix the already achieved agreements and announce new ones, the 16th meeting of the Russian-Iranian commission on trade and economic cooperation will be held on November 1, this time in Grozny. The Russian side will be represented by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and the Iranian side by Oil Minister Javad Oji.
"The sides will discuss the current situation and prospects for cooperation between the two countries in various sectors of the economy," Novak's office told reporters.
Russia and Iran. Prospects
On the eve of the commission meeting, the Iranian side reported that certain agreements had already been reached.
Thus, Mohsen Shiravand, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Iran, stated that the countries concluded several agreements in the field of agriculture. However, he did not specify what they were about, limiting his statement to the phrase that they "will have a decisive influence on the export of Iranian agricultural products."
He reminded that earlier Russia and Iran had disagreements about the standards of agricultural products, the existence of which had caused problems with supplies of Iranian goods to Russian markets in the past.
In addition, Oil Minister Oji said that the countries had concluded a $4 billion memorandum on the development of fields as well as an agreement on the construction of gas pipeline strings and installations for the production of liquefied natural gas worth $40 billion. He had previously stated that Russia was going to start developing six oil and two gas fields located on Iranian territory. He also expressed the hope that a corresponding agreement would be signed before the end of the year.
Alireza Varnasseri, a member of the Majlis (parliament) energy commission, said Iran could become a hub for Russian oil and gas supplies to other countries. On October 13, Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Ahmad Asadzadeh said on the sidelines of the Russian Energy Week forum that Gazprom has a promising opportunity to transport its gas through Iran to neighboring countries, including Pakistan. Asadzadeh also noted that Iran's territory could be used to transit gas to the Persian Gulf countries.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak also noted that Russia and Iran may agree on swap supplies of oil and gas by the end of this year. He said that the first stage could involve the supply of 5 million tons of oil and up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Federation Council
Based on materials from TASS