Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that a delegation of 80 large companies will visit Iran next week, Russian state-owned news agency RIA reported.
Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi are at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Samarkand, in Uzbekistan. Earlier, Iran's foreign minister said that Tehran had signed a memorandum to join the bloc.
The body, formed in 2001 as a talking shop for Russia, China and ex-Soviet states in Central Asia, expanded four years ago to include India and Pakistan, with a view to playing a bigger role as a counterweight to Western influence in the region.
