The think tank European House—Ambrosetti in partnership with the Italian Embassy in Tehran and Tehran’s Chamber of Commerce—hosted a virtual Business Forum on "Economic relations between Italy and Iran in the current context: non-oil sectors, SMEs’ role, EU support".
More than 800 Italian and Iranian representatives from the private sector, business consultants and professionals attended the online event held on July 22. It was aimed at discussing avenues for economic cooperation, building on a longstanding tradition of friendly relations and vibrant economic bonds between Italy and Iran, according to the Italian Embassy in Tehran.
The online event offered participants the opportunity to analyze the current economic context and prepare the ground for increased cooperation. A special virtual B2B session was held where participants established direct contact, with a view to exploring options for further cooperation and exchange.
In his opening remarks, Italian Ambassador to Iran Giuseppe Perrone highlighted Italy’s wish to bring economic and trade relations with Iran on a positive trajectory.
While appreciating the commitment and professionalism of Iranian private sector, he pointed out deep historical ties between the two countries as well as the significant number of Italian companies who over the years have built strong relationships in Iran and look forward to the opportunity of advancing their cooperation.
For his part, Chairman of Tehran’s Chamber of Commerce Masoud Khansari encouraged participants to bet on Iran’s important economic potential and develop effective partnerships, including by seizing the opportunities available in the broader region.
Khansari recognized the special role played by Italy as a key partner of the Iranian private sector in trade and investment activities, hoping that Italian companies would continue to be a reference point for their Iranian counterparts.
The event also included a presentation by experts from the European Union on new tools made available at the EU level to facilitate trade relations between European companies and Iranian ones.
The first Iran-Italy economic conference, in cooperation with Ambrosetti, was held in Tehran in May 2016.
The group had planned to hold the Iran-Italy conference on an annual basis to fortify political and economic ties between the two sides, but the goal did not materialize.
The Ambrosetti conference is an international event held annually, which brings together heads of state, ministers, Nobel laureates and businessmen to discuss challenges facing global economies and societies.
Italy 2nd Biggest Trade Partner of Iran in EU
Italy was Iran’s second top European economic partner in the first five months of 2020.
Trade between the two countries stood at €254.41 million during January-May to witness a 28.21% increase in comparison with the corresponding period of 2019.
Iran’s share of exports to Italy stood at €44.08 million, while its imports from the country topped €210.32 million during the period.
Overall, trade between Iran and EU member states during the five months since the beginning of 2020 stood at €1.83 billion to register a 6.49% decline compared with last year’s corresponding period, latest data provided by the European Statistical Office show.
Iran exported €276.69 million worth of commodities to EU during the five-month period, indicating a 3.43% decline compared with the similar period of previous year.
The main export destinations over the period were Germany (€85.16 million), the Netherlands (€49.77 million), Italy (€44.08 million), Spain (€28.1 million) and Belgium (€17.76 million).
Imports from the EU dropped by 7.02% to stand at €1.55 billion during the five months under review.
The top five exporters from the European bloc to Iran were Germany with €697.06 million, Italy with €210.32 million, the Netherlands with €137.67 million, France with €88.05 million and Spain with €82.16 million worth of shipments to Iran.
