Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) have agreed on the majority of the key issues to finalize negotiations on the free trade area (FTA) agreement, except for mutual market access for certain categories of agricultural products, the trade bloc of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) said in a statement.
"The modalities of the arrangements necessary to complete negotiations and sign the agreement were considered. All issues were agreed, except for mutual access to the market of certain categories of agricultural products, which was agreed to continue discussions," the report said.
Such results were presented during the two-day visit of EEC Trade Minister Andrey Slepnev to Tehran. The main purpose of the visit was to consider, at the level of delegation heads, the issues of negotiations on concluding the free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
"The prospects for the development of long-term mutually beneficial cooperation in transport, cooperation in industry, agriculture and food security, as well as in other areas are impressive. The future agreement will allow us to put these joint plans on a strong contractual basis," said Minister of Trade of the EEC Andrey Slepnev, as quoted in the report.
At the same time, following the meeting, the minister emphasized the high dynamics of cooperation with Iran. According to the results of 2021 the commodity turnover between the EEU and Iran increased by 74% and for the first 10 months of 2022 year - by 25% more comparing to the same period of the last year, the EEC reports.
It is noted that the Iranian delegation is headed by Deputy Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade of Iran, Head of Trade Promotion Organization Alireza Peyman-Pak. The visit also included a meeting with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs Mehdi Safari. The EEC said that they discussed possible further steps to strengthen the foundations of economic cooperation between the EEU and Iran. In addition, Andrey Slepnev met with the heads of diplomatic missions of the EEU member states.
About the agreement
Earlier in his interview to TASS Chairman of the EEC Board Mikhail Myasnikovich said that an agreement on free trade zone between the EEU and Iran could be signed in the first half of 2023, preparations for signing an FTA with Egypt were also in their final stages.
In December 2021, the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council approved a draft protocol to the interim agreement needed to establish a free trade zone between the EEU and Iran. The protocol envisages the extension of the agreement for three years or until the relevant full-fledged agreement enters into force.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials from TASS