Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade Abbas Aliabadi has underscored the significance of mutual cooperation among regional countries, considering it a catalyst for shaping a new global order.

Aliabadi made the remarks in St. Petersburg on Monday after Iran signed a free trade agreement with members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) — Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.

Speaking about Iran’s joining the EAEU, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the BRICS group of emerging economies, the minister said this involvement lifts constraints on multilateral cooperation among regional countries.

He criticized some world powers for trying to preserve the unipolar system, saying that cooperation among regional countries could contribute to the formation of a new order in international relations.

Pointing to the growth in Iran’s trade with the Eurasian Union over the past four years under the temporary preferential tariff agreement, Aliabadi said that the signing of the free trade agreement would lead to unprecedented expansion in trade between Iran and the member countries.