Iran and Austria signed another memorandum of understanding centered on environmental issues late Tuesday in Vienna, seven months after inking an agreement in Tehran.
Massoumeh Ebtekar, the head of Iran’s Department of Environment, and Austria’s Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management Andra Rupprechter, signed the MoU.
Ebtekar arrived in the Austrian capital on Monday for a two-day visit following an official invitation from Rupprechter who had visited Tehran in February, Mehr News Agency reported.
The agreement covers a wide array of topics, from the exchange of knowhow and technology to cooperation on environmental and marine research, and implementation of Paris Agreement.
The latter is an international deal signed in the French capital in December that aims to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and limit the planet temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100.
Education, preservation of national parks, wildlife conservation and waste management are other key elements of the MoU.
“The agreement can pave the way for private investors to finance environmental projects in Iran and participate in sectors such as waste management and renewables,” Ebtekar, who doubles as a vice president, said.
In an interview with Financial Tribune earlier this month, Ebtekar made known her department’s intention to attract foreign investment in the nascent renewable energy sector.
The Iranian official was scheduled to meet with the representatives of environmental firms and visit Austria’s Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.
