Iran, Russia eye creating joint chamber of commerce

Russia and Iran are ready to create a joint chamber of commerce, the Economic Development Ministry of the Russian Federation said following the fifth meeting of the Russian-Iranian working group on interregional cooperation, Report informs via TASS.

“Representatives of both countries expressed interest in increasing the pace of work on forming a regulatory framework for interregional cooperation, as well as continuing the project to open trading houses of Iranian provinces in the Russian regions and Russian trading houses in Iran,” the Ministry of Economic Development notes. "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 Russian regions."

The parties also discussed the prospects for interaction between Russian and Iranian special economic zones, cooperation in small and medium-sized businesses, and issues of increasing the tourist flow, which amounted to 42,400 people last year, more than two times higher than in 2021.

The meeting participants focused on cooperation in transport and logistics regarding the effective use of the international transport corridor North-South.

“According to various estimates, by 2035, the flow of Russian cargo on the territory of Iran may be from 15 to 60 million tons. The Russian ports of the Caspian Sea are ready to accept up to 12 million tons of cargo with further transportation via the railway network to the ports of the Baltic Sea,” the Ministry of Economic Development said.

In addition, during the working group meeting, representatives of the Russian delegation presented to Iranian partners the possibilities of the trade and logistics route Middle Volga - Enzali - Qazvin, organized by the Regional Center for Support of Entrepreneurship of the Ulyanovsk Region. This route will reduce the cost of logistics by 35% thanks to reloading and improve the export potential of the ports of the Ulyanovsk region by 540,000 tons of grain, 50,000 tons of vegetable oils and 50,000 cubic meters of wood products.

The next meeting of the working group is expected to take place in 2024.