TEHRAN- The Deputy Head of Iran's Trade Promotion Organization, referring to a 16% growth in Iran’s exports to Eurasia last year, described this regional agreement as a successful model for developing non-oil exports and expanding trade cooperation.

Amir Roshanbakht Ghanbari, Deputy for International Business Promotion at the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran, in an interview with Mehr News Agency, responding to a question about the plans of the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade in the field of industries and cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union, said: Last year, the country faced numerous political and security events, but despite these conditions, Iran's exports to Eurasian member countries increased by about 16%.

He said: This indicates how much trade and regional agreements can be effective in developing the country's foreign trade. We must utilize all the capacities of regional and international agreements for the development of non-oil exports.

Roshanbakht added: Eurasia is a successful and practical example of regional economic cooperation that was formed in the current government. This year, coinciding with the first anniversary of the implementation of this agreement, a good opportunity has been provided to evaluate its performance and achievements.

He continued: Now we can examine what measures have been taken in the past year to develop the country's exports and further connect Iran's economy to regional economies and free markets, and to what extent this path has been effective in achieving the country's trade goals.

The implementation of Iran's preferential trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, which entered its operational phase in May 2025, has created new opportunities for boosting Iran's trade with the five member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union. Iran's free trade agreement with Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan has laid the groundwork for facilitating the export of goods, reducing tariffs, and increasing the competitiveness of Iranian products.

Experts believe that this agreement will not only strengthen Iran's export capacities but will also lead to the development of stable, long-term economic relations between Iran and the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union.

In August 2025, Mohammad Ali Dehghan Dehnavi, head of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPO), said that steel and petrochemicals are expected to account for 50 percent of the objectives set under Iran’s free trade agreement (FTA) with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

He said the FTA, which entered into force on May 15, 2025, is unprecedented for Iran, reducing tariffs on 87 percent of traded goods.

He noted that while previous preferential trade agreements with the EAEU had expanded trade volumes, this latest agreement presents a unique opportunity for deeper integration.

“Trade agreements create both opportunities and challenges. The overall outcome is positive for both sides if vulnerabilities are addressed and opportunities maximized,” Dehnavi said. He emphasized that steel and petrochemical industries are major drivers of production and exports, and leveraging them effectively could achieve half of Iran’s FTA objectives.

The official called on the private sector to actively engage in Eurasian markets, pointing to research identifying which Iranian products have the highest export potential. “Private companies should focus on maximizing profitability, while policymakers ensure collective benefits such as employment, economic growth, and foreign currency inflows,” he said.

Dehnavi also noted that export opportunities vary across member states, highlighting Russia as one of the most lucrative markets for Iranian products and promising further studies to optimize engagement in the region.

According to Elham Haji Karimi, head of the Iran-EAEU FTA secretariat, the agreement, signed in December 2023 after more than two years of negotiations, covers 11 chapters, including trade in goods, technical measures, sanitary standards, rules of origin, customs cooperation, dispute resolution, government procurement, and sectoral cooperation in transport, energy, automotive industries, and free trade zones.

In late January, a senior Iranian foreign ministry official proposed establishing a Eurasian free zones organization to promote economic cooperation and synergy among member states.

Mohammadreza Nazeri, director general for economic coordination at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that free trade zones allow goods to be imported, exported or re-exported with minimal customs tariffs, while offering incentive and support frameworks for foreign investors.

He said Iran’s free zones provide five to ten years of tax exemptions, guarantees for principal and profit repatriation, and facilitation of capital inflows and outflows. The foreign ministry also operates offices in these zones to ease the entry and exit of foreign visitors, he added.

Nazeri said cooperation among free zones should be framed around technology while adapting global knowledge to local models, noting that Iran has developed its free zones based on domestic expertise. He said the zones hold significant trade, tourism and geopolitical potential and have increasingly focused on production as the main form of investment.

Referring to the Chabahar railway and the Khorramshahr–Shalamcheh rail line, Nazeri said the routes could connect Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries to the Indian Ocean and Iraq. He proposed the creation of a specialized Eurasian free zones cooperation body to strengthen member economies and improve access to open waters via Iran.

MA