Iran's Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade Abbas Aliabadi has hailed a free trade agreement between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union as “a new chapter” for Iranian businesses.

According to The Iran Project,Speaking upon his arrival in St. Petersburg, Russia, just before the scheduled signing of the agreement on Monday, Aliabadi emphasized the significance of the accord for trade. 

“Undoubtedly, the expansion of trade can sustain and strengthen political and social relationships between countries,” the minister said.

“The ongoing negotiations with the Eurasian Union, as one of our key neighboring economic blocs, have been underway for years, and today we witness the fruition of those efforts,” he added.

Aliabadi described the signing of the permanent free trade agreement as an opportunity for Iranian industrialists and traders to access a large market in the region, where diplomatic and political relations are already robust.