Iran, Soviets Sign Economic Accord, Aim for Improved Ties

The Soviet Union and Iran have signed an economic agreement aimed at improving relations between the two nations, Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency said Friday.

It said the protocol covers cooperation in commerce, banking, construction, transportation, fisheries and technology.

Before leaving Friday for Moscow, Soviet representative Konstantin Katushev told reporters his talks with Iranian officials had been a “great success,” the news agency said in a report monitored here.

The protocol was signed Thursday by Katushev, chairman of the State Committee for Foreign Economic Relations, and Javad Iravani, Iran’s economy and finance minister, the news agency said.

“We believe that the implementation of understandings arrived at during this session will speed up the course of the expansion of relations between the two countries,” Iravani said.

The agency indicated that the Soviets agreed to send technicians back to Iran to help build a steel mill in Isfahan and two power plants. Moscow withdrew the technicians last year because of Iraqi air raids on Iran’s industrial centers. Iran and Iraq have been at war for six years.

Shipping Discussed

The news agency said the two sides would cooperate in building a dam on the Aras River on their border. They also discussed setting up a joint shipping line between Bandar Enzeli, in northern Iran, and the Soviet port of Baku on the Caspian Sea.

It said the two sides also discussed resuming air service between Tehran and Moscow, but did not say if an agreement was reached.

The Iranian agency said high-level delegations from both countries will meet every six months to review economic matters and ways to implement agreements.

The next session of the Permanent Commission for Economic Cooperation will be next June in Moscow, it said.

The organization Katushev heads was formed recently when Moscow reorganized its foreign trade apparatus to give more autonomy to individual enterprises and trade organizations in negotiating export and import contracts.

Three Days of Talks

The agreement was signed after three days of talks between Katushev and Iranian leaders, including President Ali Khamenei, Prime Minister Hussein Moussavi and Parliament Speaker Hashemi Rafsanjani.