An Austrian trade delegation, led by Vice President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber of Commerce Richard Schenz met with members of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Agriculture in Tehran on Monday.
ICCIMA Chairman Gholamhossein Shafei said Austria has been among the few European states that stood by Iran after western sanctions were imposed against Iran over its nuclear energy program.
"After the sanctions are lifted, countries that maintained their ties with Iran during years of economic hardship will be given priority," he said.
According to Shafei, Austria is among the top ten countries in terms of infrastructure and is considered a major distributor of goods in Europe.
He said Iran can benefit from Austria's expertise in modern irrigation systems and producing organic products in the agriculture sector and recycling industries.
He also emphasized the high priority assigned by the government of President Hassan Rouhani on development of the national railroad, suggesting cooperation with Austria will help upgrade the country's railway fleet.
Currently, trade between Iran and Austria stands at about $400 million per year, which is considerably low compared to previous years.
Bilateral trade data provided by the Statistical Center of Iran show a huge surplus in favor of Austria in the last Iranian year (ended March 20), with more than $300 million of the $400 million trade resulting from Austria's exports to Iran.
The ICCIMA chairman hoped that bilateral trade would reach double its current value after the removal of sanctions.
The Austrian delegation expressed interest in cooperating with Iran in agricultural sector, tourism, environmental technologies as well as medical and pharmaceutical sectors.
"Iran has an ideal position in the region and our country attaches special importance to expanding economic ties with Iran. The combination of Austria's expertise and technology and Iran's educated labor force can lead to good cooperation," said Schenz.
He also said Austria has developed the technology to convert wastewater into potable water, which he said could greatly help Iran's agricultural sector in the drought-prone areas.
An Iranian delegation, led by Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh is scheduled to visit Australia on July 23-24 to attend the Iran-EU Conference, with focus on post-sanctions Iran-EU cooperation.
He will be accompanied by high-level officials from the economic, financial, banking and foreign investment sectors as well as oil, gas, petrochemical, mines, automotive and other industries.
A number of high-level figures and executives from Austria, France, the UK, Germany and other countries are expected to participate in the event.
The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization, German-Iranian Chamber of Commerce, the French- Iranian Chamber of Commerce and the British-Iranian Chamber of Commerce will sponsor the event.
