Russia discusses $2 billion loan to Iran
Russia has discussed financing two projects worth $2 billion in Iran, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov says.
"We met our Iranian colleagues in Moscow. There are two projects where we’re considering a possibility of our companies’ participation and the possibility to extend credits worth around $2 billion," he said.
He made the announcement while talking to the Tass news agency on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey but gave no details.
RIA Novosti has already said the Russian infrastructure bank VEB would provide Iran with a $2 billion credit line.
“We have reached a high-level agreement. Now it’s the work of the banks to agree on the technical details of this scheme,” the Russian news agency cited Iran’s Deputy Industry Minister Mojtaba Khosrowtaj as saying last week.
Khosrowtaj also confirmed another $5 billion which Russia has agreed to give to Iranian infrastructure projects.
Energy Minister Alexander Novak first announced Russia’s plan to open a $5 billion credit line for Iranian projects, including electrifying a train line connecting north central Iran to the northeastern border with Turkmenistan at a cost of $1.2 billion.
Last week, Iran’s Minister of Communication and IT Mahmoud Vaezi visited Moscow with a delegation of 70 traders as the two major allies fast-track their expansion of ties in time for the lifting of sanctions.
“Relations between Iran and Russia have entered a new phase in all aspects,” he said.
Novak has said Tehran and Moscow had devised a package of projects that were collectively worth $35 billion to $40 billion.
During his visit to Tehran in October, Novak called Iran as Russia's "most important economic and trade partner", saying bilateral trade stood at “more than $1 billion which is not enough" and had to be raised.
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