By John Meyer, consultant in financial affairs – Eurasia Business News, July 6, 2024. Article n°1075.

Russia and Iran have completed the integration of the Russian Mir payment system and the Iranian Shetab system, the parties have signed an agreement on the use of national currencies for commercial transactions. This was stated by the head of the Iranian Central Bank, Mohammad Reza Farzin.

According to the regulator of the Islamic Republic, at a bilateral meeting with the Chairman of the Central Bank of Russia, the requirements for connecting the Russian payment network of Mir cards to the Iranian Shetab network were finally agreed.

Bank cards of the Shetab network, as Farzin explained, can be used at all ATMs in Russia, Iranian citizens will be able to withdraw ruble banknotes from their cards. As part of the second stage, Russian citizens in Iran will have the opportunity to use their cards in the republic. The Iranian payment system may be launched in the Russian Federation by the end of August.

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The heads of the Central Bank also signed a new document on cooperation – an agreement on the liquidity of national currencies to facilitate bilateral trade, Farzin said.

In August 2023, the Iranian Foreign Ministry noted that the availability of the necessary technical infrastructure allows the republic to connect to the payment system in a few months.

Russia and Iran have been strengthening their economic ties in recent years, particularly as both countries face Western sanctions. Bilateral trade reached a record $3.3 billion in 2021, an 81% increase from the previous year. Trade was worth $4 billion by the end of 2023. Iranian imports to Russia grew by 15.8% to $1.29 billion in 2023. In January 2024, Iran joined the BRICS.

Russia and Iran are cooperating in oil and gas development, with Gazprom and Lukoil involved in Iranian projects. Russia was Iran’s largest foreign investor in 2022, particularly in oil projects.

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In December 2023, Iran signed a free trade agreement with the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union. The agreement, aimed at reducing or eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers in trade and fostering economic cooperation between the EAEU and Iran, was signed during a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in St. Petersburg.

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