On September 30, the EAEU-Iran Business Dialogue was held at the Eurasian Economic Forum 2024 in Yerevan, Armenia, with the participation of representatives of authorized bodies, business associations and the business community.
The series of events included a panel discussion during which conceptual issues of development of trade and economic cooperation were discussed, as well as sectoral round tables, where practical tasks in the field of agriculture, industry, transport and financial instruments to promote trade and investment were considered. Within the framework of industry round tables, representatives of the EAEU business associations and business also presented their current and future projects.
The key speakers of the events were Andrey Slepnev, Minister of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission, Seyyed Mohammad Attabak, Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Gevorg Papoyan, Minister of Economy of the Republic of Armenia, Dmitry Volvach, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Alexander Shokhin, President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Mahmoud Najafi, Head of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and President of the of the Kyrgyz Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Danil Ibraev, Member of the Board – Deputy Chairman of the Board of Atameken NCE Timur Zharkenov.
The participants emphasized that holding such a business dialogue is especially relevant in the light of the signing in December 2023 of a full-fledged Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the other hand, providing for the establishment of a duty-free trade regime for 90% of the commodity nomenclature.
We must work with all our might, including in this forum, to remove all existing barriers to trade. We all together need to pave a good working road for business to each other.
Andrey Slepnev
At the same time, he expressed confidence that the EAEU and Iran are natural economic partners, and with the implementation of all promising opportunities for cooperation between them, the countries are guaranteed success.
“Today, in this hall and at the round tables, we tried to gather the business assets of both Iran and our countries. I am sure that both B2B meetings and all other contacts are what is needed today,” the EEC Minister in charge of Trade emphasized. At the same time, he indicated his own intention to take part in the next large-scale Eurasian exhibition in December, which will be held in Tehran.
“Such regular meetings of business, the creation of trade infrastructure, trading houses, practical solutions to settlement issues – this is all that we must do to unlock the existing opportunities,” Andrey Slepnev summed up, estimating the existing potential for growth in trade turnover between Iran and the EAEU at $12 billion.
On the sidelines of the EEF 2024, a B2B service was organized, which allowed interested forum participants to “network” and establish direct business contacts with potential business partners. In addition, representatives of the Iranian delegation took part in other sessions of the EEF-2024.
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