Page 32 - IRANRptSep22

5.2 FTA, multilateral agreements
Iran, EEU expect to sign FTA within three months official says during Putin visit
Iran applies for BRICS membership
Iran, Tajikistan sign deal to expand industrial and trade cooperation
A free trade agreement (FTA) between Iran and the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) is to be signed within three months, the Trade Promotion Organisation of Iran (TPOI) announced on July 20.
An advisor to the TPOI on international and trade agreement affairs, Hadi Seyyedi, announced the deal—an upgrade from Iran’s existing trading relationship with the EEU member countries, which is based on a temporary preferential trade agreement (PTA) signed in 2018—at an international trade workshop held by Iranian and Russian officials in Tehran while Russian President Vladimir Putin was visiting Iran for talks.
Under the FTA, 80% of customs tariffs applied to trade between Iran and the EEU member states—namely Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia—will fall to zero and special provisions will be made for specific sectors including automotive production.
“Signing and sealing this agreement is of paramount importance,” Seyyedi said. Trade between Iran and the EEU bloc reached a value of $5.64bn in the last Persian calendar year (ended on March 20), registering a 66% y/y rise as coronavirus restrictions were removed or eased.
Iran and Russia, meanwhile, have accelerated the development of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), originally envisaged as offering a trade route for Indian goods to reach as far as Helsinki via Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia, though other branches of the corridor might now assume more importance given the new political realities since Russia became the most sanctioned country in the world as the West responded to its invasion of Ukraine. The transit route has taken on new importance for Russian exports as it seeks to reorientate trade with an emphasis on business with Asia.
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.
32 IRAN Country Report September 2022 www.intellinews.com