Iran’s ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali says Tehran regards its ties with Moscow as “a priority” under President Ebrahim Raeisi’s new policy of revitalizing relations with neighboring states.
"Russia is a priority country for Iran to develop relations with," Jalali said in remarks Thursday at the St. Petersburg 25th International Economic Forum (SPIEF) as quoted by the state-run TASS news agency, noting that relations between the two sides have entered a new phase.
The diplomat said Iranian-Russian relations have entered a new phase, TASS news agency reported.
"Our top priority is the development of relations with neighboring countries," the diplomat asserted at the Jan 15-18 annual event, organized by the Roscongress Foundation, a Moscow-based socially oriented non-financial development institution.
According to the report, the theme of this year’s forum is ‘New Opportunities in a New World’ and is being held in coordination with the SME (Small & Medium-sized Enterprises) Forum, the Creative Business Forum, the Drug Security Forum, the SPIEF Junior Dialogue and SPIEF Sport Week.
Earlier Iran’s Minister of Petroleum Javad Owji said that the volume of annual trade between Iran and Russia would hit $40 billion within the next one year and a half.
Owji made the remarks on the occasion of Russia's National Day.
His comments comes while figures released by Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) suggest that Iran’s last year trade with Russia stood at $4.63 billion.