Russian PM makes first ever visit to Iran

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin (left) and Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref in Tehran, Iran on September 30, 2024.
Photo: 1tv.ru

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian hosted Mikhail Mishustin in Tehran for talks, RT reports.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin visited Iran on Monday, where he met with the country’s top officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref.

The talks focused on bilateral cooperation between the two nations, the expansion and diversification of trade, as well as work on major investment projects.

“Russia is genuinely interested in taking our cooperation to a higher level, giving it a new meaningful implementation. Such decisions were made by our leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Supreme Leader of Iran Seyed Ali Khamenei,” Mishustin said during the talks.

The deputy prime minister hailed Mishustin’s visit as a “historic” milestone, stressing it was the first-ever official trip of a head of the Russian government to Iran.

The two sides discussed strengthening cooperation in Eurasia, including the development and expansion of the North-South transport corridor, which is running through both Russia and Iran.

The scope of the negotiations reached beyond the bilateral ties, with the participation of the two countries in major multinational projects being on the agenda as well, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksey Overchuk said after the talks.

Question: Could you please share with us the outcomes of the trip to Tehran?

Alexei Overchuk: It was a historic trip, as it marks the first-ever visit by a Russian prime minister to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Two meetings were held during the visit, one with the Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and another one with the President of Iran.

We focused on bilateral issues, since today they go far beyond Russia-Iran relations and largely determine future international relations amid a forming new world order. The Iranian leaders pointed out that the new world order will be built around associations such as BRICS, the SCO, and the EAEU.

In this regard, we once again discussed matters related to ratification of a free trade agreement between the EAEU and the Islamic Republic of Iran. We expect this agreement to come into force next year. We also discussed Iran’s accession to the EAEU as an observer, as earlier announced.

Additionally, during our bilateral meeting, we focused on strengthening connectivity across the Eurasian space addressing primarily matters of mutual interest as they relate to expanding the North-South international transport corridor.

We explored energy issues, trade in agricultural products, and industrial cooperation. In short, we covered many important issues. The meeting with the Vice President lasted quite a long time, and Mr Mishustin covered in depth every item on the agenda.

Question: What are the most promising areas for Iran and, of course, for us?

Alexei Overchuk: We find all the issues that we touched upon interesting and promising. First, both our countries are under illegal sanctions and are working as a team to oppose the unlawful pressure. We see eye to eye on this matter. Expanding transport links, joint efforts to expand the manufacturing industry and trade will make our economies more robust, create new jobs in our respective economies, and improve living standards. These are the goals we are working towards.

…The trip of Mikhail Mishustin comes just two weeks after the secretary of Russia’s Security Council and former defense minister, Sergey Shoigu, made a surprise and unannounced visit to Iran. During his visit, Shoigu met with Pezeshkian and other top officials for talks that reportedly revolved around “carrying out large joint projects in fields involving transport energy, industry, and agriculture.”

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