A delegation, including representatives of 70 companies from Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia, headed by the state’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Energy and Industry Garrelt Duin will visit Iran in May. “It is a favorable time to boost bilateral economic and commercial cooperation, and since German products have long been popular in Iran, we are optimistic about a successful return to the county’s market,” Duin said recently in an interview with a German newspaper, IRNA reported. Almost 80% of the machinery installed in Iranian factories are made in Germany. Trade between Iran and Germany in 2005 and before the implementation of western sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program amounted to €4.4 billion, with NRW, the country’s most populous state, accounting for a quarter of the sum. Following NRW, the state of Baden-Wurttemberg was Iran’s second biggest German trading partner.
