Madanizadeh said talks with his Russian counterpart had resulted in significant progress on financial and foreign-exchange issues between the two countries, describing the discussions as constructive and transparent.

“Very good progress was made in our financial and foreign-exchange interactions,” Madanizadeh said, according to Iran’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance. He added that discussions on recent bilateral interactions and agreements would be reported back to officials in Tehran.

The talks also covered potential investment in Iran’s strategic and high-return industries, as well as measures to facilitate bilateral financial and commercial transactions, he said.

Madanizadeh said Iran had also proposed sending groups of qualified job applicants to Russia, drawing on the country’s large pool of educated workers. The issue will be followed up by Iran’s ambassador in Moscow, he said.

The minister described the overall outcome of the meeting as positive, saying the agreements reached could create new opportunities for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

Iran Targets Faster Movement of Goods at Borders

Madanizadeh said Iranian traders continue to face significant obstacles at border crossings, particularly in the movement and clearance of goods. Some of those difficulties stem from laws, regulations and procedures governing cross-border trade, rather than from customs authorities themselves, he said.

“Not all of these problems are necessarily related to customs,” Madanizadeh said, noting that although customs authorities are stationed at border crossings, more than 20 government and non-government bodies are involved in border and trade procedures.

To address the bottlenecks, the Economy Ministry is pursuing two major initiatives: coordinated border management and direct cargo transit, or through-transport.

The objective is to transform customs facilities from points where goods are held into points through which goods can move, Madanizadeh said.

Implementation of the two projects could significantly reduce delays in the movement of goods and improve the efficiency of Iran’s trade infrastructure, he added.

The reforms are part of a broader effort by Tehran to reduce logistical and administrative barriers to trade and improve the resilience and competitiveness of its external commerce.