TEHRAN: Iran’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Mahmoud Vaezi, said in February after a meeting with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister, Igor Shuvalov, that Tehran hoped to sign a number of agreements with Moscow as part of Rouhani’s visit to Russia.
According to the Russian trade representative in Iran, Andrei Lugansky, Iran should recognize the mutual interest of both countries within the framework of the free trade agreement. He referred to Iran’s intention to start exports of fruit and vegetables to Russia, which is a point of concern for Russia, as the duty-free importation of such products could create competition with local goods. “This concerns the foreign trade activities – machine building products’ supplies to Iran and the increase of supplies of food products to Russia,” Lugansky said in an interview. Lugansky added that the creation of the free trade zone between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Iran would also be discussed during the president’s visit.