Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 24
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) signed an interim accord on preferential tariff, the IRNA news agency reported Dec. 24.
The document was signed by Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, Iran's industry, mines and trade minister and Andrey Slepnev, the minister for trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission in Tehran.
On the sidelines of the signing the document Nematzadeh said that the accord is the first step for long-tern cooperation between Iran and the EEU.
The interim accord is the start point for fresh rounds of serious negotiations on signing a trade agreement between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union, the Iranian minister said.
Concluding a trade agreement will pave the path for all member states of the EEU as well as Iran to benefit from preferential tariffs and other trade facilitations.
Iran enjoys strategic ties with the EEU members, Nematzadeh said, adding signing a firm trade agreement between the parties will serve long-term prospects and strengthen all-out mutual ties.
Slepnev, for his turn, said that the two sides intend to work very fast to realize their "ambitious" goals.
"Our main goal is not only signing the trade deal, but also, stimulating plans for development of north-south trade," he said, adding the issue should be considered as large-scale work.
It is planed that the EEU and Iran to launch a joint study of the prospects of concluding an agreement on free trade.
The two ministers noted that the joint working group itself will have a significant contribution to the development of relations between the EEU and Iran. The decision to create a joint research group with Iran was adopted by the EEC Council on August 21.
The work of the joint study group (SIG) is a preparatory stage for negotiations on establishing a free trade area, during which experts examine the economic structure of countries and the parameters of foreign and mutual trade, looking for areas of mutual concern.
The Eurasian Economic Union is an international integration union created on the basis of the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space. It united Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia.