Iran views Armenia as a "bridge" to EEU markets -minister

YEREVAN, March 1. /ARKA/. Iran views Armenia not only as a partner, but also as an opportunity to enter the markets of other Eurasian Economic Union's (EEU) member states, Iranian Minister of Cooperation, Labor and Social Security Seyed Saulat Mortazavi said at a meeting with Armenian Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan in Yerevan.

"The Iranian side noted that it considers Armenia not only as a long-standing friendly country interested in expanding cooperation but also as a bridge to enter markets of other EEU member states," the press service of the Ministry of Economy said in a statement.

Kerobyan was said to have noted with pleasure that over the last two years the trade turnover between Armenia and Iran has considerably increased, exceeding $700mln in 2022. The parties agreed that there are prerequisites for increasing this figure and expanding cooperation. They also touched upon cooperation in free economic zones and various sectors of the economy.

As of January 2023, Iran and the EEU agreed on most of the main issues to finalize negotiations on a free trade zone (FTA) agreement, in addition to mutual market access for certain categories of agricultural products. It is expected that the FTA between the EEU and Iran could be signed in the first half of 2023. --0--