TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iranian and Russian business activists in Tehran met to explore ways for boosting trade and finding ways for transfer of money.
A trade delegation from Russia’s Sakha Republic led by the state’s Deputy Prime Minister Kirill Bychkov visited Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA) on Tuesday to meet with Tehran private sector representatives and to explore avenues of mutual cooperation.
As reported by the TCCIMA portal, the meeting was attended by Head of Iran Export Confederation Mohammad Lahouti, TCCIMA Deputy Head for International Affairs Hesamedin Hallaj, and the economic representative of the Russian Embassy in Tehran as well as managers of some Iranian companies.
Cooperation in various fields including foodstuff, woodwork, oil and gas, information and communication technology, precious stones, and construction were among the issues raised and discussed by the two sides in this meeting.
Addressing the gathering, Lahouti pointed to the beginning of a new era of economic cooperation between Iran and Russia after the recent visits of the presidents of the two countries and expressed hope that these meetings would increase the two sides’ economic exchanges.
Referring to the imposition of sanctions against Iran and Russia, Lahouti said: “Cooperation between the two countries can help neutralize the sanctions.”
He stated that Russia, as Iran’s largest northern neighbor, can be a corridor for the expansion and development of Iran’s foreign trade, and in return, the country can benefit from Iran’s capacities to increase its trade interactions.
Lahoti underlined the creation of a joint financial channel for the transfer of funds as one of the solutions for developing relations under sanctions and said: “Changing the model of bilateral cooperation from export and import to joint cooperation such as swapping, re-export, and joint production is a necessity. Therefore, in order to achieve the mentioned goals, it is necessary to establish joint industrial and commercial committees between the two countries.”
The official who is also the head of the TCCIMA Trade Facilitation and Export Development Committee said: “Having 30,000 active members TCCIMA is ready to take the lead in creating these joint committees.”
Elsewhere in the gathering, Bychkov, in his turn, pointed out the potential fields of cooperation between the Russian and Iranian private sectors and stated that there is a bright perspective for the future of economic cooperation between the two countries.
“Sakha is the largest region of the Russian Federation and its area is equal to that of India,” he said.
According to Bychkov, Russia’s largest gas fields are located in the Republic of Sakha, and despite its large size, the region has a very small population.
“The volume of foreign trade of this state was five billion dollars last year, which was 60 percent more than the same period of the preceding year. This state has also been ranked first in the Russian Federation in terms of attracting foreign capital,” he said.
