Alexander Novak told a joint press conference with Iranian Minister of Petroleum Javad Owji on Tuesday: “I would like to appreciate the Iranian Minister of Petroleum for steering Iran’s delegation in this meeting and praise the representatives of government institutions and business circles of the Islamic Republic of Iran who worked with their Russian colleagues in order to achieve fruitful results for both countries.”

He emphasized: “I am confident that holding the meeting of the Joint Economic Commission can help to further develop relations and cooperation between Iran and Russia.”

The Deputy Prime Minister of Russia pointed out that relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia are at a high political level, and said: “Holding a meeting of the Joint Economic Commission can give another boost to the relations between Iran and Russia. The relations between Iran and Russia are confident relations established between the presidents of the two countries.”

Novak added: “At the meeting of the Joint Economic Commission, we emphasized once again that we have the desire and determination to develop and expand bilateral relations in practice in all fields.”

Swap Agreement

He stressed the importance of cooperation between the two countries in the field of energy, adding: “It was agreed to expand cooperation in the fields of electricity, oil and gas. Russian companies are currently investing in the oil fields of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the volume of such investments will increase next year.”

The Deputy Prime Minister of Russia announced a very large package of agreements in the field of energy, and added: “For example, this year Gazprom signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Iranian Oil Company. Agreements have been made regarding extraction from the gas fields of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as the export of gas to other countries.”

Novak continued: “We have also agreed on the swap of oil products and this cooperation is promising.”