As reported by the Public Relations Department of the CBI, following the trip of Farzin to Russia with the aim of increasing monetary and banking cooperation with this country and also strengthening relations within the framework of the free trade agreement between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), a meeting was held between the directors of Sberbank of Russia and Bank Melli Iran (BMI), based on that, a credit line worth 6.5 billion rubles was created for Iran to import basic goods from Russia.In this meeting, which was attended by Farzin, directors from Sberbank of Russia and Bank Melli of Iran emphasized the opening of a 6.5 billion-ruble credit line between Iran and Russia.This credit line is supposed to become operational by Sberbank and BMI to finance the import of basic goods needed by Iran.The credit is based on the brokerage agreements and contracts concluded between the two banks in a minimal form and as the beginning of banking operations.It should be noted that the opening of this credit is the first important step in the direction of the development of cooperation between Iran and Russia after the signing of the free trade agreement between Iran and EAEU.Iran and the member states of Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Armenia, signed a free trade agreement (FTA) in a ceremony in St. Petersburg on Monday.The signing ceremony was attended by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari, EAEU Minister in Charge of Trade Andrey Slepnev, Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali, and a number of EAEU officials.After signing, this agreement needs to be approved by the parliaments of six countries (Iran and EAEU five member states) in order to become a law and become operational.According to the information received by the IRNA reporter in St. Petersburg from the free trade agreement between Iran and the EAEU, the parties will completely eliminate tariffs for 87 percent of goods in their trade exchanges.In the meantime, each of the parties prepares a negative list that includes goods that are considered sensitive goods for one of the parties and it is not possible to remove the tariff.Iran’s first LC opened after yearsFollowing the consultations and creation of monetary and banking platforms and technical negotiations of the Central Bank of Iran, the first LC of Iran's banking network abroad was opened by Bank Sepah in Russia.As reported by the CBI Public Relations Department, the value of this LC, which has been used since Wednesday (December 27), is 17 million euros to begin with, and it is used for imports with the condition of long-term payment.In fact, this credit opening has provided the possibility of easy and creditable purchases by Iranian traders from Russia, which will help in facilitating imports to the country.As announced by the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), the value of trade between Iran and Russia rose 18 percent during the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-Novemebr 21), as compared to the same period of time in the past year.Mohammad Rezvani-Far said that 3.748 million tons of products worth $1.756 billion were traded between the two neighbors in the mentioned eight-month period.The weight of eight-month bilateral trade also rose 43 percent year on year, the official added.He put the value of Iran’s export to Russia at $616.326 million in the first eight months of the present year, which was 32 percent higher than the figure of the same period of time in the past year.The IRICA head also announced that Iran imported commodities valued at $1.14 billion from Russia in the eight-month period, with 12 percent growth, year on year.In late January, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that the Islamic Republic and Russia have reached an agreement to boost the trade between the two countries up to $10 billion.As major players in the world and West Asia’s political and economic scene, Iran and Russia have been expanding political and economic ties for many years, however, the relations between the two countries have entered a whole new level over the past few months. (ICE TEHERAN)

Fonte notizia: Tehran Times