South Korea launched a business center to support local firms exporting to Iran on Monday, as the Islamic Republic is opening its market following the recent lifting of western sanctions, the South Korean Finance Ministry said.
Located in downtown Seoul, the center, backed by government agencies, including the finance and trade ministries, Korea Trade Insurance Corporation and Korea Export-Import Bank, will provide information and consultation services on trade and investment with Iran, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
“The Iranian market will be a bonus to the South Korean economy when our companies make good use of it,” Vice Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said in the center’s opening ceremony.
“The center will help our companies solve difficulties and do business with their Iranian counterparts.”
Since Washington and Tehran concluded a landmark nuclear agreement last year, the United States and the European Union have removed economic sanctions imposed on Iran over the past decade, opening up a new market with a population of 80 million.
Iran’s reentry into the global economy is regarded as a boon for the South Korean economy, as the oil-rich country is keen on implementing infrastructure and development projects.
In the first 11 months of last year, Iran-South Korea bilateral trade reached $6 billion, compared with $17 billion in 2011.
