** IRANDAILY
-- Iran, Russia to upgrade $40b MoU to contract: Oil Minister
Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji revealed that the memorandum of understanding (MoU), valued at $40 billion, which was signed last year between Iran and the Russian Gazprom Company, will be made into a contract in the coming months.
Owji said that following his latest meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak in Tehran, the groundwork for the development of 10 oil and gas fields in Iran by the Russian Federation has been laid.
-- Iran’s gas exports up 10% last year
A senior official at the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) said that Iran’s exports of natural gas increased by 10% in the previous Iranian year of 1401 (ended March 20, 2023).
Hossein-Ali Mohammad-Hosseini, director of corporate planning at NIGC, also announced on Friday that the amount of gas burned at the South Pars gas field decreased from 3.2 billion cubic meters to 1.8 billion cubic meters in the same period.
-- Two Iranian banks plan to set up offices in Russia
Two Iranian banks are planning to launch offices and branches in Russia amid growing trade and business ties between the two countries, according to a Central Bank of Iran (CBI) official.
“Fortunately, some good developments are taking place. We hope to announce the news of the inauguration of the representative offices and branches of at least two Iranian commercial banks in Russia in the future,” said Mohsen Karimi, who serves as CBI’s deputy governor for international affairs, on Thursday.
** TEHRAN TIMES
-- Iran, the Vital Link in the North-South Corridor
The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) got a fresh boost on Wednesday with the signing of a 1.6 billion deal by Iran and Russia for completion of the vital 162 km rail link between Rasht in Gilan Province with the northern part of the city of Astara which lies in the Republic of Azerbaijan.
When complete in the next three years this would be a 7,200 km long rail track stretching from Iranian ports on the Persian Gulf to major east European cities, thereby significantly reducing the time and freight charges for transit of cargoes from Russia to India and beyond.
The grand project facilitates transit of goods originating in Europe and destined for India through Russia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, avoiding the circuitous and expensive sea route through the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal and the Red Sea.
-- Iran’s Gorgan Runners-Up at West Asia
Al Riyadi basketball team of Lebanon won the inaugural edition of the WASL-West Asia following a 114-100 conquest of Iran’s Gorgan in Game 2 of the Final at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex in Zouk Mikael.
Duop Reath led the way with 29 points and 6 rebounds, together with an assist, 2 steals, and a block as he proved why he’s tagged as the club’s ‘missing piece.’ Gorgan, on the other hand, was led by the triple-double outing of Perry Petty with 29 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists in the crushing loss.
-- President Raisi Meets Tribal Heads in Zahedan
President Ebrahim Raisi has held a friendly meeting with tribal chiefs in the country’s Sunni Muslim-majority province of Sistan and Baluchestan during a visit aimed at pursuing the development projects in the region. During the meeting on Thursday evening, Raisi said the province is a beloved part of the Islamic Republic.
He warned against attempts to disrupt national unity and said, “National convergence should be protected, and anyone who tries to break the national unity takes a step on the path of enemies.” Raisi referred to the acts of violence in Sistan and Baluchestan during months of riots and protests in the country last year, saying, “Rioting is unacceptable to any citizen.”
** KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL
-- Russia halts release of film on serial killer of sex workers in Iran
Russian authorities have cut short the screening of the controversial movie “Holy Spider” just days after its release according to a statement made by the distributor last Tuesday. The film had its Russian premiere on May 11 but less than a week later the Culture Ministry withdrew the film’s distribution license, Anastasiya Kruglyakova, a representative of Exponenta Film, told AFP in written comments.
The ministry said that the release was canceled “due to the presence in the specified film of materials, containing information whose dissemination is prohibited by the legislation of the Russian Federation.”
-- Iran celebrates 290th birthday of poet Magtymguly Pyragy
The 290th birthday of Iranian-Turkmen poet Magtymguly Pyragy was celebrated on Thursday at his tomb located in Aq-Tuqai village, Golestan Province. The Vice Minister of Culture of Turkmenistan, Nursakhet Shirimov, the executive secretary of the Turkmen National Commission for UNESCO, Chinar Rustemova, and a group of Golestan cultural officials attended the celebration.
In his brief speech, Shirimov thanked the people of Golestan Province for their hospitality and said, “Magtymguly’s poetry presents patriotism and unity, and holding the celebration considerably helps expand the relations between Iran and Turkmenistan.”
-- Foreign tourists in Iran jump 315 percent y/y
– Iran’s foreign tourist arrivals in 2022 rose 315 percent from a year earlier, as mentioned by the statistics bureau of the World Tourism Organization. Data showed around 4.1 million tourists came to the country in 2022 while the Islamic Republic attracted 990,000 tourists in 2021.
The rise of foreign tourist arrivals in 2022 was three times the global average growth in this field. Nevertheless, Iran's share in attracting foreign tourists is still small, and only 0.4% of all foreign tourist trips in 2022 have been made to Iran, the report said.
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