Eurasian Union to hold expert talks with Iran

Member-countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) will hold expert-level talks on creating a free trade zone (FTZ) with Iran at the end of June, Russia’s First Deputy Economic Development Minister Alexei Likhachev told TASS on June 16.

“The talks are scheduled for late June. These will be consultations at the level of experts from EAEU countries,” Likhachev said.

He added that the talks will focus on the approaches towards forming a free trade zone with Iran. “Since Iran is not a WTO member, and there are specific national trade control measures, it is necessary to understand how we can adapt our interests to these rules,” Likhachev said.

Informal consultations on a temporary free trade zone between the EAEU and Iran began in mid-May. The association’s member-countries are also negotiating the creation of the free trade zones with Israel, India and Egypt. The first international document on a free trade zone between the EAEU and a third party was an agreement with Vietnam signed in May 2015.

The EAEU was set up on the basis of the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Armenia and Kyrgyzstan joined the organization in 2015.