Trade between Russia and Iran currently stands at around $5 billion a year, well below its potential, and should grow significantly in the years ahead, said Leonid Slutsky, head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs and leader of the LDPR party.
Speaking at a meeting between committee members and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Slutsky said current trade volumes fall far short of what the two countries are capable of achieving. He expressed confidence that bilateral trade would increase substantially in the near future.
Slutsky also pointed to active cooperation between Russia and Iran within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS, as well as through Iran’s engagement with the Eurasian Economic Union. These platforms, he said, are already helping to expand economic ties between the two countries.
“In effect, over the past year you have become involved in three major integration frameworks in which Russia is both an initiator and an active participant,” the lawmaker added.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Federation Council
Based on materials from TASS