Iran & Russia may sign barter agreement for car parts, gas turbines & steel: Report

In the latest development, Iran and Russia might sign barter agreements under which Tehran will supply car parts and gas turbines to Moscow in exchange for steel. The development has been confirmed by Iranian trade and industries minister Reza Fatemi Amin said on Thursday, May 26, PressTV reported. He made the remarks on the sidelines of the Iran-Russia joint economic and trade cooperation commission in Tehran.

Reza Fatemi Amin said that Iran will ensure adequate supplies of raw materials for utilisation in the metals and mining sector through a barter trade with Russia. He stressed that Iran will need to import raw materials like zinc, lead and alumina from Russia in order to address the rising demand for these commodities in the country, as per the Press TV report. Reza Fatemi Amin said that Iran and Russia had agreed to introduce barter trade for some of the goods and commodities. Furthermore, he said that some Iranian companies have already signed agreements to export or repair gas turbines in Russian power plants.

Iranian Oil Minister & Russian Deputy PM sign three MoUs

Earlier on May 25, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji, a co-chair of the Iran-Russia economic and trade cooperation commission, said that the economic relations between the two countries could enhance by nearly 10 times to reach $40 billion. He made the announcement after a meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak in Tehran. During the meeting, the two leaders signed three major MoUs to enhance ties between Russia and Iran on energy and banking ties, Press TV cited Iran's IRNA and Shana news agencies. Furthermore, Javad Owji said that Iran and Russia also signed agreements on joint projects in gas and oil sectors. Owji added that Iran will be able to export petrochemicals, and technical and engineering services to Russia. 

Russia & Iran discuss financial messaging system 

Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told TASS that Moscow and Tehran had agreed to "move to the highest possible level of settlements in national currencies." Novak said that they discussed developing conditions for "mutual settlements and processing of payments between organizations and legal entities." He further went on to say that both sides discussed the central bank and financial messaging systems. As per the Press TV report, Iran and Russia intend to enhance cooperation between the two nations on trade as they continue to tackle sanctions imposed by the United States. 

Image: AP