ArmInfo. Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) have begun negotiating a permanent agreement on a free trade zone. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated this on Wednesday at a press conference following talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.
"Iran has been a party to a temporary agreement on the liberalization of mutual trade for a long time, and now we have already begun to agree on a full-fledged permanent agreement on a free trade zone between Iran and the EAEU. The benefits from this process for all its participants are obvious," Lavrov said.
He also recalled that Moscow positively assesses Iran's interaction with the countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the EAEU.
An interim agreement leading to the formation of a free trade zone between the Eurasian Economic Union and its member states and Iran was signed in Astana on May 17, 2018, it establishes the basic rules for trade between the EAEU and Iran, as close as possible to the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The agreement entered into force on October 27, 2019.