South Korean President Park Geun-hye left Seoul for Tehran on Sunday for a historic three-day trip aimed at bolstering political and economic relations between the two countries.
Park is heading Seoul’s biggest-ever traveling business delegation of over 230 executives. On this occasion, notable Iranian economist Saeed Laylaz wrote an editorial for the Iranian daily Forsat-e Emrooz’s Sunday edition, the translation of which follows in its entirety:
Significant changes in present-day material life, mind and thoughts of human communities are rooted in startling, sophisticated, cutting-edge technologies. The world, as we are living in today, can indeed be called the era of technology.
Frontrunners of production and commerce are eager to have the latest technologies on all fronts and remain at the top by taking full advantage of technical know-how.
The likes of Apple in the US and Samsung in South Korea are immensely valuable simply because of encouraging innovation. They have left oil and automotive giants in the dust by improving their scientific know-how.
In this day and age, trade and production boil down to clash of technologies; countries lacking modern know-how, particularly in industries, will either lag behind or fade away. It is sad to say that industrial production in Iran is going down the same path.
Adopting the world’s latest technologies is absolutely vital for the future of Iranian community; failing to do so would be the final nail in the coffin for the already unstable industry.
Now that Iran does not have access to American technology, due to their foreign policies, and the European countries have turned out to be ungenerous in sharing their expertise, South Korea seems to be the most apolitical international market for Iran to gain access to state-of-the-art technology.
The satisfactory performance of South Korean companies in Iran, particularly those active in automotive, oil and gas, and home appliances, could become broader and more sustainable.
To Iran’s economy, South Korea, with multibillion dollar exports to all influential countries, is also an example to follow. It is challenging to achieve harmony between the two countries’ social issues or domestic politics so the best recipe for improving their ties would be technology transfer through direct investment by South Korean powerhouses.
We need to regard the upcoming visit by South Korean president to Iran as a good omen, which is expected to culminate in $17 billion worth of deals.
It is highly advisable to include the condition of “technology transfer” in all these deals, as far as possible.
Seoul has proved it is not overly strict in this regard, so it is a golden opportunity for Iranian industries to make up for its historical lag.
