IRNA – Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian said that Iran is a reliable partner for Eurasia because of being a link between the Persian Gulf and its fossil-fuel reserves.

Reza Ardakanian said at a trade conference with Eurasia on Sunday: "After several years of negotiations in April 2018, Iran and Eurasia signed a provisional free trade agreement, and we intend to turn it into a free trade agreement after three years of trial."

The three-year period ahead is very important in terms of implementation and results, Ardakanian saying that the executors of the implementation of this agreement should work in close cooperation with each other to ensure a smooth implementation of the agreement and already provide the necessary premises for the expansion of free trade negotiations that begin next year.

The minister emphasized the need to remove the barriers to the implementation of the Eurasia Agreement, stating that if properly implemented, the agreement would pave the way for the expansion of economic relations and the development of trade between Iran and the member states of the Union and would lead to the economic development of these countries.

Iranian energy minister added that economic integration, especially with neighboring countries, is one of the priorities of Iran's foreign policy and said: "The formation of a new economic bloc in the form of the Eurasian Economic Union can be taken for granted, because the formation of this union is a good example of regional cooperation and regionalism policy in the last decade." It has been and is hoped to bring more peace to the region.

Iran, as one of the important countries in the Middle East and has a neighborly advantage with the Central Asian and Caucasian countries, can link the interests of these countries and enjoy them as well, emphasized Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian.