Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 27
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iran and Russia discussed facilitation of ruble-rial exchange as a means to boost bilateral trade in 2015.
In a meeting between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei, the two sides announced facilitating ruble-rial exchange and opening a joint account for boosting the trade in 2015, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported on Dec. 27.
The two countries will sign a visa issuance facilitation agreement, a joint investment agreement, and an insurance cooperation agreement in the next year.
Head of Iran World Trade Center Mohammad Reza Sabzalipour told Trend on December 1 that Tehran should take the opportunity to boost bilateral trade with Moscow in the short term.
Iran can benefit from the western sanctions imposed on Russia, he added.
"Moscow has voluntarily banned importing certain items from the western countries," he said, adding that the country needs to find new providers.
Asadollah Asgaroladi, head of the Iran-Russia Joint Chamber of Commerce, said September 30 that Russia and Iran plan to replace the US dollar with their national currencies for the settlement of bilateral trade transactions.