It will take two years for a potential free trade agreement between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) to take into effect, according to Elham Hajikarimi, an official at Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) of Iran.
She made the remarks during a meeting of Iran-Kazakhstan Joint Chamber of Commerce in Tehran on Thursday.
Hajikarimi, the TPO secretary of EAEU desk, noted that Iran and the EAEU have so far agreed upon some 80 percent of the free trade agreement. She however added that after the finalization and determining the items which will be covered by the document, it will take two years for the parliaments of the member countries to approve the agreement.
Iran and the EAEU started three-day talks in the Armenian capital earlier this month to discuss a potential free trade deal between the two sides.
During the Yerevan talks, officials from Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) of Iran and representatives from EAEU member countries explored ways the two sides can go beyond a preferential trade agreement that was signed two years ago.
Figures published by the Iranian customs administration (IRICA) in July showed that trade with the EAEU had accounted for some 4.6% of Iran’s total trade in the year to late March.
Trade with Russia, which reached nearly $2.61 billion in value terms, had accounted for 77% of Iran’s exchanges with the economic bloc over the same period, according to the same IRICA figures.