Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi's visit to Moscow for bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin is both regionally and internationally significant, political scientist Ruhollah Modabber told Sputnik.
“Russia, as the main ambassador of the new world order, can become an even greater friend for Tehran, while for Iran, as a country opposing American hegemony, an alliance with friendly countries can lead to economic, scientific and technological prosperity," Modabber underscored.
Earlier, the Kremlin announced that after visiting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Vladimir Putin would receive the Iranian president in Moscow on Thursday. The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, will arrive in Russia on a working visit accompanied by a high-ranking delegation. The sides plan to consider the current agenda of bilateral cooperation "with an emphasis on the implementation of promising joint projects in the trade and economic sphere, including transport and energy," it was stated. The two leaders will also exchange views on major international and regional topics.
As Raisi will be accompanied by a business delegation, one can expect that obstacles in the way of mutual trade will be ironed out, Modabber underscored, adding that “Iran's preliminary plans within the BRICS framework will also be discussed.”
BRICS held its annual top-level summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, in August. During the summit, Argentina, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, and Egypt were invited to join the group. On August 24, Iran and five other countries, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, were invited to join the BRICS bloc of emerging economies from January 1, 2024. In May, Belarus officially applied for membership in the group.
Furthermore, the North-South Transport Corridor will be a major theme in upcoming bilateral negotiations between Russia and Iran, international politics expert Emad Abshenas added.
“Iran now has a great opportunity to become a center for global trade from north to south, and from east to west; this will help Iran’s economy shed its oil dependence,” the political scientist surmised.
The pundit was referencing the North-South International Transport Corridor (ITC) project, developed back in 1999 by Russia, Iran and India. The INSTC is an international multi-mode network nearly 4,500 miles (7,200 kilometers) long, connecting Russia's St. Petersburg and India's Mumbai. The corridor is an alternative to the sea route connecting Europe, the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean countries via the Suez Canal. There are three routes, namely, the Trans-Caspian using railroads and ports, Western and Eastern both using land routes. President Vladimir Putin has described the International North South Corridor as one of Russia’s top global infrastructure projects.
Both Russia and Iran have been demonstrating the capacity to resist the collective West’s ability to shape the world order, while alo expanding bilateral cooperation. Amid the sanctions imposed on Russia over the special operation in Ukraine, Moscow has successfully reoriented trade from the EU to Asia. In the case of Iran, trade turnover increased by 20% in 2022, and amounted to US$4.9 billion. Following the visit of Russia's deputy prime minister Alexander Novak to Iran in May 2022, it was announced that the two countries agreed to switch to trade settlements in rubles and rials as much as possible. Furthermore, Russia and Iran are mulling cutting trade tariffs down to zero by early 2024, Iran-Russia Joint Chamber of Commerce member Kambiz Mirkarimi indicated earlier.
In late September, Vladimir Putin and Ebrahim Raisi discussed the steps to ensure Iran's smooth joining of all full-fledged BRICS activities, taking into account the chairmanship of Russia in it in 2024. The presidents also confirmed intention to strengthen trade and economic ties, as well as to promote joint energy and transport projects, per the Kremlin.