Iran is getting closer!
December 10 to the Islamic Republic of Iran on an official visit arrived Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The agenda of the visit includes issues of resolving the Iranian nuclear program in the context of the agreements reached recently in Geneva and the preparation of the Geneva-2 conference on Syria. Also, during the visit, the topic of interaction between Russia and Iran in the Caspian Sea will be touched upon. This is especially true before the next, fourth, Caspian summit in the fall of 2014 in Astrakhan. It is likely that at the meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, which is also planned during the visit of Sergei Lavrov, the issue of organizing the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Islamic Republic of Iran will be raised. As you know, Hassan Rouhani at the summit in Bishkek conveyed to Vladimir Putin an invitation to pay an official visit to Tehran, to which the Russian president agreed. Now the whole question is only about dates.
Before Sergey Lavrov's visit to Iran, the head of the Latvian society of friends of Iran "Baradaran-name" Vladimir Galochkin shared with me an interesting material called "On the visit of Sergei Lavrov to Tehran"... I advise everyone to read this article - it's really interesting. Well, now I will express some of my thoughts.
Fortunately, the development of relations between Russia and Iran is gaining momentum. Lavrov's visit to Tehran is another confirmation of this. It is worth noting that the same success at the Geneva talks on the Iranian nuclear program is largely due to Russia. As a result, Iran pledged to stop uranium enrichment over 5%, to suspend the production of plutonium and centrifuges and to admit IAEA inspectors to its nuclear facilities, and Russia going to build another nuclear power plant in Bushehr. If cooperation continues at such a pace, then the complete lifting of sanctions on Iran is not far off. Basically, if all these nuclear misunderstandings (I personally believe that Iran's military nuclear program does not exist at all) are settled, then there will be nothing to find fault with Iran. Something, but democracy in the Islamic Republic is at the highest level. The United States with its bipartisan system and "electors" in the presidential campaigns would be worth learning from Iran.
The geopolitical problems associated with Iran, which Sergei Lavrov went to resolve, are, of course, very important. But first of all I would like to touch upon economic issues. The fact is that the Iranian market, where there are practically no serious foreign economic players due to ten-year sanctions, is extremely attractive for Russia. As well as the Russian market is attractive for Iran. The profit from establishing cooperation only in economic terms for Russia and Iran can amount to trillions of rubles and radically change the entire balance of power in the Middle East. It is very important that Russia does not miss this chance and be the first to extend its hand to Iran.
Let's analyze what the main areas of cooperation between Russia and Iran would be relevant now ?! First of all, this is cooperation in the field of armaments. Iran is interested in modernizing its air defense systems. Russia is a supplier of the most advanced air defense systems in the world market. In addition to air defense, Iran is also interested in many other modern weapons systems. Cooperation in this regard can bring Russia hundreds of billions of rubles in profit, and Iran's security. Iran, in turn, needs to sell its agricultural products - first of all, of course, pistachios. It may also be interesting to cooperate in the field of trade in hydrocarbons, which Iran is extremely rich in, but which, due to the sanctions, are now difficult to implement on the foreign market.
It is also possible to start cooperation in the field of high technologies. Technoparks are being actively created in Iran. Iranian is already well known in Russia technopark "Pardis", which in our country was presented at the international industrial exhibition "Innoprom". There are many other projects in this area. For example, the Kakhkeshan aerospace technology park. The construction of technoparks is also developing in Russia, and the state allocates quite large resources for this. But it often faces all sorts of problems associated with difficult Russian realities. SEZ "Murmansk" can be considered as a negative experience. There are many questions to the Moglino special economic zone being created in the Pskov region. Even the work of the main technopark of Russia, Skolkovo, raises questions. The Iranians simply do not have such problems.
The idea is that the Iranian experience could be used to develop our technology parks. To begin with, one could take any Russian SEZ as a basis and start creating a joint Iranian-Russian project of a modern technopark from scratch. Of course, having previously protected this SEZ from Russian realities (in the form of tightly corrupt local authorities on the ground), as well as any other bureaucratic idiocy and self-interest. As a result, Russia would be able to receive Iranian investments and unique Iranian experience in this direction, while Iran would have the opportunity to create its own enterprises in a zone free from any sanctions.
In conclusion of the material, I would like to note one thing. Politics is politics, but it is economic interaction that binds countries most tightly. The solution of geopolitical issues related to Iran is, of course, important for our country as well. But at the same time, even now Russia should make the maximum possible efforts to develop mutually beneficial strategic cooperation with Iran in the economic sphere. This will allow Russia to gain a foothold in the Middle East, and Iran - to gain access to the European market, which will finally remove all external obstacles to the development of the Islamic Republic.
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