Iran and Russia have agreed to discuss a deal that will facilitate tourism cooperation between the two countries, according to a senior official in the Iranian tourism ministry (MCTH).
Leila Azhdari, who leads MCTH’s Marketing and International Tourism Office, said on Monday that Iranian and Russian tourism authorities had agreed during a technical meeting held last week in Tehran to exchange draft documents that will lead to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on tourism cooperation between the two countries.
Azhdari said the tourism MoU between Iran and Russia will cover a wide range of activities including training, educational tours and exhibitions.
She said Iran will propose a draft MoU to Russia’s Federal Agency for Tourism (Rostourism) based on a timetable agreed in the August 31 meeting.
The official said the MCTH and Rostourism had also agreed to finally start implementing a 2017 agreement that waives visa requirements for group tours between the two countries.
Azhdari said the agreement, which allows visa-free stay in Iran and Russia for 15 days for groups of 5 to 50 travelers, will go into effect on January 1, 2023.
“Based on minutes signed officially in the (Tehran) meeting, the two sides will have three months to submit a list of qualified travel agencies,” she said while referring to the visa-free travel arrangements between the two countries.
Iran and Russia have been deepening their economic ties since February, when Russia came under a raft of Western sanctions because of the war in Ukraine. The two countries have signed major deals to cooperate on joint projects in energy, banking and manufacturing sectors as they seek to minimize the impacts of foreign sanctions on their economies.