Iran does not seek to import German consumer goods, but is interested in joint production with the European country, said managing director of Germany-Iran Chamber of Industries and Commerce.
Rene Harun made the statement in a conference on trade with Germany at the IRIB International Conference Center in Tehran on Tuesday, IRNA reported.
“Iran is a suitable country in the region for German companies and the time is opportune for the Iranian economy to throw off the shackles of oil dependency,” he said.
“Iran’s industries need to be renovated within a specified framework. Tehran and Berlin had effective cooperation a decade ago before the imposition of sanctions. Now it’s time to pick up where we left off.”
Abbas Khaleqitabar, managing director of Trade Education Center of Iran’s Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade, noted that the German share in total trade balance with Iran is 88%.
“Iran’s exports to Germany reached $340 million in 2014 whereas German exports to Iran stood at $2.46 billion,” he said.
“Thirty-percent of Iranian industries are based on German technology, which are transferred either directly or indirectly.”
Khaleqitabar urged the European country’s companies to invest in Iranian ports, transportation, logistics, oil, gas, petrochemical and automotive industries.
Echoing Harun’s remarks, he noted that Iranian firms do not welcome the import of consumer goods.
Another speaker at the conference, Reza Abbasqoli, who is the general manager of Trade Promotion Organization’s Representative Affairs Office, said two out of five commercial attachés, planning to set up trade missions in the European countries, will be dispatched to Germany.
Based on documents, relations between Iran and Germany date back to 142 years and the European country was Iran’s top trading partner as of 1940, only to be replaced by Italy in 2001.
Special Trade Committee
In a meeting with the visiting Minister of Economic Affairs, Media, Energy and Technology Ilse Aigner from Germany’s Bavaria state, Iran’s deputy economy minister and the head of the Organization for Investment Economic and Technical Assistance, Mohammad Khazaei, put forth the idea of forming a special committee to promote bilateral cooperation.
Noting that Iranian public and private sectors think highly of German industries, Khazaei signaled his organization’s readiness to support that country’s investments in Iran by clearing any hurdles.
For her part, the German official underlined strengthening of economic ties with Iran and called for additional investment incentives for German private companies.
Aigner, who is heading the 130-strong delegation from the German southeastern state, arrived in Tehran on Saturday for a five-day visit. The delegation held meetings with Iran’s private sector representatives on Monday and explored areas of cooperation in post-sanctions Iran.
The sanctions cut off Iran from the international financial system and hampered trade and exports.
Tehran and six world powers reached a historic deal on July 14 in Vienna, which would limit the country’s nuclear program in return for the removal of sanctions on its energy and financial industries.
In August, another Bavarian economic mission headed by Chief Executive Officer of Bavaria’s Business and Industries Association Bertram Brossardt traveled to Isfahan to assess trade opportunities in the central province.
The southern state of Bavaria is Germany’s biggest state and home to heavyweights such as BMW and MAN, but also hundreds of smaller biotech, IT and environmental technology firms that have made their mark in the past couple of decades.
