TEHRAN – The press service of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development has reported Russia and Iran are ready to create a joint chamber of commerce.
The Russian ministry’s report was published following the results of the fifth meeting of the Russian-Iranian working group on interregional cooperation.
“Representatives of both countries expressed their interest in increasing the pace of work on the formation of a regulatory framework for interregional cooperation, as well as in continuing the project to open trading houses of Iranian provinces in the Russian regions and Russian trading houses in Iran,” the ministry said.
“Among the most promising provinces for cooperation with Russia, the Iranian partners named Isfahan and Khuzestan, and expressed their readiness to create a joint Iranian-Russian chamber of commerce with the participation of representatives of the Russian regions,” the ministry added.
The parties also discussed the interaction between Russian and Iranian special economic zones, the cooperation of small and medium-sized businesses, and ways to increase the tourist flow. In 2022, the tourist flow more than doubled in comparison with 2021 reaching amounted to 42,400 people, TASS reported.
The meeting participants also touched upon cooperation in the field of transport and logistics in terms of the effective use of the North-South international transport corridor.
“According to various estimates, by 2035, the flow of Russian cargo on the territory of Iran may be from 15 to 60 million tons. Currently, the Russian ports of the Caspian Sea are ready to receive up to 12 million tons of cargo with further transportation by railroad to the ports of the Baltic Sea,” the ministry reported. The working group is expected to hold its next meeting in 2024.