Alexander Novak said on Tuesday at the general meeting of the 16th Joint Economic Commission of Iran and Russia that the relations between Iran and Russia will be improved with the strategic development document, and from now on, the two countries would witness the further development of relations.

He mentioned investments in areas such as power plants, oil and gas, and the North-South railway crossing as the main part of Iran-Russia cooperation, and added the volume of trade between Iran and Russia this year will reach 4 billion dollars.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Russia stated that Iran-Russia relations are at their highest political level and show remarkable progress in all fields of cooperation. “Our motivation for this cooperation comes from the trust of the presidents of the two countries,” he said.

Novak emphasized the strategic nature of partnership in the energy sector and bilateral cooperation, and said: “Based on the results of today's meetings, the two sides agreed to review the draft agreement between the government of the Russian Federation and the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for cooperation in the field of geological exploration and oil and gas production in the country as soon as possible.”

He stated that Iran and Russia support formulation of a joint comprehensive program in the fields of oil and gas, refining and petrochemicals, as well as a roadmap for technical and strategic cooperation, and said: “This action will help develop cooperation of technology companies in the two countries in the field of technology, design and construction.”

Pointing out that a series of memorandums on strategic cooperation between Iranian and Russian oil and gas companies have been reviewed, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister stated: “These documents allow the initiation of more interactions in various sectors of the industry and the long-term development of Iran's oil and gas industry.”

Novak added: "Also, in the near future, we have decided to create a joint working group to develop projects, including the supply of oil and gas industry equipment from Russia to Iran and joint scientific research."

He pointed to cooperation in the field of petrochemicals, and said: “Aspects of providing petrochemical products with high value added including catalysts, additives, polymer and other products for Iran were also discussed.”

The Deputy Prime Minister of Russia stated: “The Iranian side has emphasized its readiness to facilitate the process of creating a corridor for import and export operations of the Russian oil industry, meanwhile, the creation of a consortium to localize Russian drilling facilities in Iran is being considered.”