EAEU hopes free trade agreement with Iran will go into force in 2019
YEREVAN. Oct 24 (Interfax) - The free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Iran might go into effect in 2019, the Eurasian Economic Commission's (EEC) trade minister, Veronika Nikishina said on Tuesday.
"The free trade agreement with Iran was signed in May and will go into force as soon as all the ratification procedures are completed in the parliaments of the five countries. We expect that the schedule will be met by the end of the year, and with the beginning of the year we can expect the agreement with Iran to go into effect completely," Nikishina said at a press conference following the Eurasian Week forum in Yerevan.
She also said the free trade agreement with Vietnam has already yielded positive results, and the "most important achievement is that fears that businesses had were not justified."
"There were fears that the agreement will lead to unilateral concessions - we'll open our market but won't be able to gain any advantages. But the trade turnover grew by 35%, and it grew in a balanced way. Moreover, exports to Vietnam grew by 40% while imports [increased] by 35%," Nikishina said.