Iran has hosted 200 trade delegations from foreign countries since implementation of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in January 2016, Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA) Chairman Masoud Khansari told the Tehran Times in an exclusive interview.
Of the mentioned 200 delegations, 80 ones have visited and negotiated with TCCIMA, the official announced, adding “TCCIMA has also dispatched trade delegations to seven countries including Germany, Denmark, Austria, Romania and Czech Republic in post sanctions.”
“Many of our negotiations with the foreign delegations led to signing contracts that some of them have been already taken into action”, TCCIMA chairman noted and mentioned medicine, part manufacturing, polymer and chemical industries as some areas of cooperation with foreigners.
He said that immediately after JCPOA (which lifted the West-led sanctions against Iran’s economy) two committees were set up in TCCIMA; one named Post-JCPOA Committee chaired by Mehdi Jahangiri, the vice chairman of TCCIMA, and the other one titled Investment Attraction Committee chaired by Ferial Mostofi, a member of TCCIMA’s board of representatives.
Fortunately, many prominent and fruitful measures have been already taken in both committees, Khansari highlighted.
‘$10b foreign investment attracted in 11 months’
Elsewhere in his remarks, TCCIMA chairman stated that as Mohammad Khazaei, the head of Organization for Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran, announced on March 7, Iran has absorbed about $10 billion of foreign investment during the first eleven months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2016-February 18, 2017).
He also notified that a memorandum of understanding was signed between TCCIMA and the mentioned organization on March 5 which clarifies the ways for cooperation between the two bodies on attraction of foreign investment.
“We anticipate that we (TCCIMA) will dispatch trade delegations to nine countries including Russia, Belarus and Germany in the coming Iranian year (which starts on March 21)”, the official announced.
‘Foreigners prepared for investment in Iran’s all sectors’
As Iran enjoys rich reserves of oil, gas and minerals and also given its market of 80 million people which together with the markets of its neighbors it composes a market of 400 million customers, foreigners are ready to make investment in all sectors of Iran, Khansari underlined.
Although he lamented that U.S. President Donald Trump’s approach toward Iran’s nuclear deal has created a sense of uncertainty in the foreign investors and for the moment some of them are just waiting to see what will happen.
Tehran Times
16 March
