Iran in the Eurasian Economic Union

20.06.2023

By the end of this year, Iran will join the Eurasian Economic Union under a free trade agreement initiated by Russia with several countries in the Eurasian region, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk said in a statement to Russian news agency TASS.

The Russian deputy prime minister said in an interview that talks between the Eurasian Economic Union — which comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia — and Iran were in their final phase.

“We very much hope that such an agreement can be signed by the end of this year,” Overchuk said.

Turnover in Russian-Iranian commodity exchanges increased by 20 percent last year, according to government data.

The regional agreement with Iran is expected to replace and extend an interim pact that already provides for a reduction in customs duties on hundreds of categories of goods.

In March this year, Tehran said it expected “huge volumes” of oil and gas exchanges with Moscow.