Eurasian membership opens brilliant path for Iran’s economy

A few days after returning from the UN General Assembly, President Rouhani traveled to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, on Monday to attend the Eurasian Economic Union's regular session; a visit that will host political officials where they will also hold bilateral economic and political consultations.

The Eurasian Economic Union is formed in 2014 countries and includes Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus. The union actually belongs to countries located in the north and central Asia and Eastern Europe.

 Improving sustainable development and improving the quality of life of member-states have been the main reason for the formation of the Eurasian Economic Union.

A review of newspapers, websites and domestic news agencies shows that the media, concurrent with the President's visit to Armenia, described Iran's presence in the Eurasian Economic Union as a major step in the development of regional and commercial cooperation with our country's neighbors and emphasized the need to exploit it.

 They have emphasized utilizing investment opportunities and facilitating economic relations with the EU member-states.

Iranian and Armenian officials' emphasis on expanding bilateral relations and strategic prospects in Tehran-Yerevan relations is another focus in the domestic media.

The president pointed to his bilateral meetings in Armenia, and said, "We will have bilateral talks with most of the countries that are present at the summit. Tonight we will meet with the President of Armenia and Tuesday. Rouhani also mentioned plans to meet Kazakh, Russian and Singaporean officials at the Eurasian summit in Yerevan, and noted that this is an opportunity to meet with the member-states, those who are official members, and countries such as Singapore that later joined.

Entekhab wrote that Rouhani on Monday night, during a trip to Armenia to attend the Eurasian Economic Union summit, at a meeting with Armenian President Armen Sarkissian, said that Tehran and Yerevan have always had friendly and intimate relations.

The country is on the path of growth and development, President Rouhani said, adding, "Developing and strengthening more relations with all neighboring countries, including Armenia, is one of the principles of the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Rouhani considered the cultural and historical commonalities of the two nations as an opportunity to establish lasting comprehensive relations between the two countries, and said that the Islamic Republic of Iran and Armenia have wide capacities and potentials in various fields such as energy transit and tourism, tourism and they have industries that can be exploited to serve the interests of both nations.

President Rouhani, heading to Yerevan as the Interim Free Trade Agreement between Iran and Eurasia, entered the operational and operational phase on October 26, the Etemad daily reported.

 In the last three years, the debate over Iran's accession to the Union was pursued with greater speed and focus, and the Parliament finally approved the accession to the Union on January 27, 2019, according to which Iran had been an interim member of the union for three years, the country will be admitted as a permanent member of the free trade zone if sakeholders agree with its admission. The use of trade tariffs, investment opportunities and facilitation of economic relations with the member-states of the Union is a summary of the benefits of Iran's membership in the Eurasian Economic Union.

According to some experts, Iran's trade balance with all the member-states of the union is negative, but membership in the union could facilitate Iran's export process and provide new markets for Iranian goods.

The latest data released by the International Trade Center (ITC) on the status of Iran's trade with the Eurasian Economic Union indicates that Iran's total exports to the eight countries in the union last year amounted to $1.9 million And in contrast, exports of Eurasian Union member states to Iran amounted to about $1.5 billion per year.

 Among the members of the Eurasian Economic Union, Iran has the highest imports from Russia at $1.5 billion and the least imports from Kyrgyzstan at nearly $5 million. Most of Iran's exports to the union were registered in Russia last year ($ 1.9 million), and Iran's least exports were to Belarus ($1.1 million).

 According to statistics from the International Trade Center, about 4.9 percent of these countries' imports were from Iran. Also, among the member-states of the Union, Iran's share of the country's import demand (about 3.7 percent) was higher than that of other countries, and about 5 percent of its exports to Iran.

In his meeting with his Iranian counterpart, the Armenian president also emphasized that his country attaches great importance to the further development of relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Armenian President said that Armenia is looking forward to further development of relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is especially true in the economic, industrial, energy and environmental fields. The President of Armenia said that the activity of the Eurasian region could be bigger than the current situation and in this regard it is ready to fully develop relations with Tehran and we fully welcome the activation of free zones.