Iranian and Russian officials in a meeting in Tehran on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on customs cooperation.

The MoU was signed between Head of Iran's Customs Administration Massoud Karbasiyan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Malinin in the Iranian capital today.

The Russian customs official said that his meeting with Karbasiyan was fruitful, and expressed the hope that the agreement would open a new chapter in customs cooperation between the two countries.

Iran-Russia trade currently totals $5bln a year, but economists say they can at least quadruple the volume of their trade exchanges.

Earlier this month, Iran's Ambassador to Moscow Mehdi Sanayee and Minister of Regional Development of the Russian Federation Igor Slyunyayev explored new avenues for the promotion of bilateral ties, particularly between the two countries' regions and provinces.

During the meeting on Saturday, Slyunyayev referred to historical ties between Iran and Russia as the two Caspian Sea littoral states, saying that Iran is a close ally of Russia.

The Russian minister further noted that his country is keen to boost trade relations and joint investment with Iran.

He went on to say that the Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation is ready to launch systematic economic cooperation among the provinces of the two countries and pave the way for Iranian private companies to promote interaction with the Russian ones.

Sanayee, for his part, said that Iran is ready to have a closer cooperation for arrangement of provincial seminars and exhibitions.

EA