A team of businessmen from Austria's Steiermark Province met with officials from Tehran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mine and Trade earlier this week to discuss economic relations between the two countries as well as to set the ground for the arrival of a larger group of delegation which will is scheduled to arrive in Tehran in April. The visit followed an earlier trip by Austrian business delegates to Tehran in March last year.
The visiting Austrian delegation included some traders from Austria's private sector as well as the Austrian commercial attaché in Tehran, Mehr news agency reported.
The commercial attaché of the Australian Embassy in Tehran, George Weingarten pointed out that Austria's export to Iran, "which had fallen by $220 million following the imposition of western sanctions against Iran, has risen by 15 percent in the first ten months of 2014," expressing hope that the two countries will improve their bilateral ties in the near future. He added that the Austrians are eager to participate in different industrial sectors of Iran, including the automotive industry.
The head of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mine and Trade, Yahya Al-Es'haq also referred to the new promising mood in Iran’s political and economic situation following the interim nuclear agreement reached between Iran and the P5+1 countries (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) in Genève and described the current conditions as favorable for expanding cooperation between the two countries; particularly in such industries as automotive, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, medical equipment, and other small and medium-sized industries."
"Iran's economy is gradually moving out of recession. Therefore, we are in dire need of technical support from countries such as Austria. In return, we offer a wide range of products and services as well as an easy access to the regional markets; all of which are attractive for large Austrian companies" Al-Es'haq remarked.
