The priorities were discussed at a meeting between Mahdi Heidari, Iran’s deputy minister of economic affairs and finance, and Ivan Chebeskov, Director of the Russian Finance Ministry's Financial Policy Department, on the sidelines of a BRICS meeting in India, according to SHADA.

Heidari thanked Moscow for its humanitarian assistance to Iran during the recent war and for supporting Tehran’s membership in the New Development Bank (NDB), the BRICS-backed multilateral development institution.

Highlighting the scope for deeper economic ties, Heidari called for greater Russian investment in Iran, noting that Russian companies are already active in sectors such as oil and gas, industry, and infrastructure. He proposed identifying and implementing specific bilateral and regional projects to facilitate trade between the two countries.

The Iranian official also called for closer cooperation between the central banks of Iran and Russia, with the participation of other major emerging economies such as China and India. He said BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union could provide platforms for building a more diversified and autonomous multilateral financial system.

Transport and logistics connectivity also featured prominently in the talks. Heidari stressed the need to expand regional transport corridors, facilitate trade in essential and agricultural commodities between Iran and Russia, and address existing obstacles to maritime transportation across the Caspian Sea.

Chebeskov expressed solidarity with the Iranian people and reaffirmed Moscow’s support for Iran’s accession to the New Development Bank. He said Russian companies were interested in expanding investment across a range of Iranian sectors, particularly oil and gas and transport, and called for the identification of commercially viable projects that could be jointly assessed and pursued.

The Russian deputy finance minister also underscored the importance of developing resilient and diversified financial infrastructure, saying Moscow supports BRICS initiatives in payments, capital markets and insurance.

The officials further discussed the potential use of digital assets and cryptocurrencies in international transactions. Chebeskov said Russia had recently adopted a new legal framework governing digital assets and expressed Moscow’s readiness to share its experience and explore cooperation between Iranian and Russian financial institutions in the field.

The meeting concluded with both sides agreeing to maintain consultations and pursue the implementation of agreements covering investment, banking and financial cooperation, transport, energy, trade and cross-border payment mechanisms