Russian President Signs Agreement to Establish Iran-EEU Free Trade Zone
The agreement for setting up a free trade zone between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) was endorsed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin announced on Thursday.
The agreement will facilitate the process for the Islamic Republic to join the Moscow-led regional economic bloc.
According to a Kremlin announcement, the agreement became a federal law after Putin’s endorsement and was accordingly forwarded to the relevant institutions to be implemented.
The move had been approved earlier this month by Russia’s State Duma as well as the country’s Federal Assembly.
Apart from authorizing the creation of a free trade zone between Iran and the EU, the document would be meant to support their cooperation over a wide range of economic and commercial areas.
The EEU is comprised of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an international organization created with the aim of encouraging regional economic integration through the free movement of goods, services and people within the union.
The bloc was established in 2015, after it superseded the Eurasian Economic Community that functioned from 2000 to 2014. The union has an integrated single market of 183 million people and a gross domestic product of over $4 trillion.
Putin said last August that Moscow wanted Iran to join the EEU – a move that was seen as crucial in bringing the two countries closer in their plans to form a strategic partnership.
Putin emphasized that a research had already started over the possibility of creating a free trade zone between Iran and the EEU.
“Iran is Russia’s longtime partner. We believe that bilateral relations will benefit from the reduction of tensions around Iran following the comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear program,” Putin was quoted by the media as saying.
The EEU’s prime ministers resolved in March to make talks with Tehran a priority, scenting an opportunity to expand beyond the bloc’s combined market of 183 million people.
source: FARS News Agency
Top News
Glencore in talks to sell Philippine copper smelting unit
Rasul Khalife Soltani, Secretary of the Iranian Steel Producers Association on the sidelines of the 1403 Steel Symposium:
Mobarakeh steel is producing green steel through scrap recycling
India’s record gold import said to be due to calculation error
Volkswagen buys 9.9% of Patriot Battery Metals for $48 million
Sibanye raises $500m via metals streaming deal with Franco-Nevada
Norge Mining acquires Europe’s largest natural graphite producer
Mercuria partners with Zambia on metals trading venture
Aluminum price falls to one-month low in wider commodity slump
Rio Tinto, BHP, and BlueScope to build ‘green iron’ plant
Tiny but vital metal markets rush to adjust to Chinese clampdown
Petra Diamonds cuts forecasts, jobs amid market weakness
El Salvador president proposes bill to overturn metals mining ban
China’s 2025 steel demand to fall 1.5% on year, state research institute says
Lure of Anglo’s copper mines could test BHP’s spending resolve
Copper giant Peru foresees another production plateau in 2025
Iron ore price weakens as Australia flags return to sub-$100 prices
Nickel price hits 4-year low as gloom offsets potential Indonesia cuts
Mercuria partners with Zambia on metals trading venture
Sibanye raises $500m via metals streaming deal with Franco-Nevada
Tiny but vital metal markets rush to adjust to Chinese clampdown
Petra Diamonds cuts forecasts, jobs amid market weakness
El Salvador president proposes bill to overturn metals mining ban
China’s 2025 steel demand to fall 1.5% on year, state research institute says
Lure of Anglo’s copper mines could test BHP’s spending resolve
Iron ore price weakens as Australia flags return to sub-$100 prices
Nickel price hits 4-year low as gloom offsets potential Indonesia cuts
Sibanye raises $500m via metals streaming deal with Franco-Nevada
Triple Flag to acquire royalty on Tres Quebradas lithium project