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Iran and Russia signed a memorandum of
understanding at the end of the 11th meeting of the Iran-Russia Joint Economic
Committee to implement projects as much as 70 billion euros.

The MOU was signed in a ceremony in the
presence of Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh and Russian Energy
Minister Alexander Novak.

During the 11th meeting of the Iran-Russia
Joint Economic Committee, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, said:
“Our colleagues made extensive efforts here over the past two days in order to
sign a couple of documents prepared for the 11th meeting.”

A meeting was held in the Iran Chamber of
Commerce with the goal of introducing economic officials of the two sides to
each other. Holding this meeting was the first step and should be continued in
different shapes, he said.

The Iranian oil minister added that Russia
enjoys notable potentialities in different branches of oil, gas, electricity,
technical, and technological sectors as well as meeting Iran’s need for basic
goods. We can cooperate in the areas of importing and exporting goods and
services, as well, he noted.

Iranian companies can export agricultural
and animal-based products, and consumer goods, as well as many kinds of
technical and engineering services to Russia, he added.

Six subcommittees were formed during the
committee meeting in order to study and resolve problems in different issues
between the two countries, Zanganeh said, adding: “Our responsibility is to
categorize problems which are announced by economic officials and to find
solutions for the problems.”

He added that the subcommittees were
related to industry, mining, trade, agriculture, tourism, banking, technology,
energy, and border affairs. “All the mentioned issues were included in the
memorandum of understanding which was signed today in order to increase
economic relations with Russia,” he said.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak
said for his part that this year’s joint committee meeting was held at a high
level because representatives of 40 Russian companies and formations as well as
100 Russian businessmen attended the meeting.

A couple of day before holding the joint
committee meeting, many Russian businessmen were holding talks with their
Iranian counterparts to include their own points of view in the memorandum of
understanding, Novak said, adding that negotiations between the two side have
been very fruitful and will lead to an improvement in the bilateral ties.

Relations between Iran and Russia are very
good today. The relations are not based on superficial and elementary ties.
They have established relations based on their historic ties and the relations
are very firm and important, he explained.

The Russian energy minister went on to say
that Russia is ready to export goods and services which are needed by Iran to
the country. “We are also interested in importing goods and services we need
from Iran. In general, energy, technical services, and machinery are the topics
of cooperation between the two countries.” 

Novak added that the Iranian market is
attractive for Russia. Especially, the exploration of hydrocarbon reserves in
Iran is attractive for us, he added. However, the international sanctions have
limited commercial ties between the two countries, he noted.

Russian companies are willing to renovate
power plants in Iran and establish new power plants in the country, he said,
adding that there are appropriate fields of cooperation for the two countries
in the energy sector. “The Bushehr power plant is operating normally. It is
interesting for us that Iran wants to establish 20 more power plants,” he
noted.

We should boost cooperation with Iran in
the field of metal melting and reorganize Iran’s industries and road and rail
transportation in Iran, Novak said, adding that more than 50 Russian companies
are ready to participate in Iranian projects. For instance, a Russian company
has signed a deal with Iranian TAVANIR to establish electricity generation
units in Iran over the next five years.