Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states are expected to finalize and sign a free trade agreement (FTA) in Russia within the next one or two months, according to a senior official with the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPO).
Mohammad Sadeq Ghannadzadeh, the TPO deputy for international businesses, said on Tuesday that the FTA will then need to be ratified in the parliaments of all the parties which he believed will last until March 2024 for the agreement to come into effect.
Underlining the significance of trade with EAEU, the official said that there is a potential for an $30 billion trade with the bloc.
He, however, said that reaching such a target would require preparing the necessary infrastructure and transit facilities.
The five-member bloc imports as much as $380 billion annually, the official noted, adding that signing an FTA with EAEU would be a major potential for Iran.
Andrey Slepnev, the EAEU minister of trade, said in mid-May that Iran and the EAEU may sign an FTA by the end of 2023.