TEHRAN – The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) expressed readiness to deepen trade ties with Iran during a meeting between its trade minister and Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade Seyed Mohammad Atabak, on the sidelines of a summit of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

Andrey Slepnev, the EEC trade minister, said on Friday that the partnership with Iran goes beyond a free trade deal and represents “a qualitatively new level of interaction.”

He described the scope for cooperation as broad and extending into key sectors.

Slepnev and Atabak reviewed the first results of the EAEU-Iran free trade agreement, which took effect on May 14, 2025, and outlined plans to deepen cooperation.

The two sides agreed to hold the inaugural meeting of their joint committee this autumn, where mechanisms for implementing the trade deal are expected to be finalized.

A draft roadmap for trade and economic cooperation between Iran and the bloc is in the final stages of approval, Slepnev said.

Atabak is accompanying Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref at the EAEU’s 43rd Intergovernmental Council meeting, hosted in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan.

The gathering began Thursday in a restricted format among prime ministers and continued Friday in an expanded format.

The EAEU groups Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia. Observer members include Iran, Uzbekistan, Moldova, and Cuba. Iran obtained observer status in 2024 and is seeking permanent membership, Aref has said.

EF/MA