Atabak, who traveled to Russia to attend a meeting of the Supreme Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) made the remarks on Wednesday evening upon arrival in St. Petersburg.
One of the most effective and perhaps the largest treaties concluded between our neighboring countries is the Eurasian Treaty, he said.
Following the presence of the First Vice President at the previous meeting of the Eurasian Economic Forum and the efforts of the previous government led to the approval of Iran’s observer status in the Eurasian Union.
The Iranian minister, while referring to the 2023 free trade agreement with the five Eurasian Economic Union member countries, said that the Iranian parliament also approved the general terms of the agreement, which can be a turning point for its implementation for the benefit of the country’s economy.
The union is strong in terms of economy, and with the implementation of the free trade agreement, they will be a market and economic partner for Iran in terms of exports, he said, adding that the market of 240 million is now opened to Iran more than ever before.
Referring to the recent visit of his Uzbek counterpart to Iran, Atabak said that the two sides agreed on setting a 50 percent tariff on some goods and that the Islamic Republic is also preparing such a list for trade with Armenia.
About the Eurasia International Exhibition in Tehran in March, the Iranian minister said that many regional countries have announced their readiness to participate in the expo on the mining, machinery and other sectors of industry and trade.
The holding of these exhibitions and the exchanges between officials of different countries show our enemies have failed to isolate Iran, he underscored but said “we must try to put the country's economy in better conditions”.
The Iranian Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade arrived in St. Petersburg on Wednesday evening, where he was welcomed by a number of local officials and Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali
Atabak is accompanied by Mohammad Ali Dehghan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Head of the Trade Development Organization of Iran.
He will take part in the EAEU Supreme Economic Council’s meeting on Thursday, which will assess Iran’s request to have an observer status at the union.
Last month, Russia’s Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Volvach said that Iran’s request to obtain the observer status at the economic bloc had been approved at a meeting of deputy prime ministers of the EAEU member states.
IRNA