Page 29 - IRANRptJul22

In an April report, the IMF predicted that Iran's foreign exchange reserves would be $85bn in 2020, but around 90% of the reserves are frozen abroad by sanctions.
The prices of Iranian gold sovereigns have also been rising on the open market. The Emami coin price moved up by around 0.7% on May 17, while the prices of half coins and quarter coins gained by more than 2.5%.
5.2 FTA, multilateral agreements
Iran applies for BRICS membership
Iran, Tajikistan sign deal to expand industrial and trade cooperation
Iran and Venezuela sign 20-year cooperation deal during Maduro visit
Iran has applied for joining the group of five major emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, a spokesman said.
The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced at a press conference on June 27 that the Islamic Republic has submitted its application for membership in the BRICS.
A series of consultations have been held in this regard, Saeed Khatibzadeh added.
He said although the BRICS is not a treaty or an international agreement, it has been based on a very creative mechanism with broad aspects.
The spokesman noted that the BRICS members make up 30 percent of the world’s gross production and 40 percent of the world’s population.
He expressed hope that Iran’s membership in the BRICS would result in “added values” for both sides.
Addressing a virtual summit of the BRICS Business Forum, which was attended by the group’s top leaders on Friday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi expressed the country’s readiness to share its vast capabilities and potentials to help the BRICS attain its goals.
Iran and Tajikistan have signed a memorandum of understanding on the development of industrial cooperation, Mehr News Agency reported on June 27.
Iran and Tajikistan are becoming increasingly interconnected as the two remaining Persian-speaking states in the region. Relations between Tehran and Dushanbe switched up a gear in 2021 when the two signed a joint military pact which now includes drone production in the Tajik capital.
The memorandum was signed at the end of a working group meeting between the Trade Promotion Organisation of Iran (TPOI) and the New Technologies of Tajikistan Organisation.
The highlight of the deal is an agreement by both sides for the creation of a joint venture stone production plant in Tajikistan.
Iran and Tajikistan have also agreed to strengthen and diversify mining and trade cooperation and exchange technologies related to industrial development and marketing.
Presidents of Iran and Venezuela Ibrahim Raisi and Nicolas Maduro have signed a 20-year agreement on cooperation in fields including oil and petrochemicals, Mehr news agency reported on June 11.
The signing ceremony was held in Tehran in the Saadabad palace complex, home of the former Shah of Iran, during the first visit of the Venezuelan leader to the Islamic Republic.
Raisi called the countries' relations and solidarity "strategic." Both countries remain heavily sanctioned by the US. Iran in recent years has put considerable effort into helping to get parts of Venezuela’s sanctions-impacted oil industry back up on their feet.
29 IRAN Country Report July 2022 www.intellinews.com