A senior French economic and political delegation heads to Tehran on Sunday to lay the groundwork for the first business contracts between France and Iran since an accord to curb its nuclear program in July.
France's main business lobby group, the Medef, is sending a delegation comprising more than 100 firms to Iran, including companies such as oil major Total, planemaker Airbus and car manufacturer Peugeot.
The delegation includes most of France's CAC 40 companies, but also small and medium enterprises with sectors as wide-ranging as agriculture, finance, luxury goods, pharmaceuticals, construction and transport represented.
Heading it up are Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll and Trade Minister Matthias Fekl, who will open a new trade office in the Iranian capital on Sept. 22.COMMENTARY: It was predicted that European entities would show an interest in renewing economic ties with the Islamic Republic following the signing of a nuclear agreement, however the rush and scope of interest can still be characterized as remarkable.
Iranian Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare Minister Ali Rabiei and Mexican Secretary of Labor and social Welfare Alfonso Navarrete Prida signed a memorandum of understanding on labor cooperation in Tehran on September 7.
The agreement includes cooperation and exchange of experiences in job health and safety, employment, social welfare and empowerment of disabled people, in addition to technical and occupational training, the Mehr News Agency reported on Tuesday.COMMENTARY: Earlier on 15JUN15 during a meeting in Tehran with Iranian Majlis Foreign Policy and National Security Committee Chairman Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the chair of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Senate of the Republic of Mexico Gabriela Cuevas Barron stated that Mexican corporations are ready to enter the Iranian market.
Spain reached an agreement with Iran to ship natural gas from Iran to Europe following the release of sanctions against the country. Iranian authorities and an economic trade delegation of some 70 Spanish companies, including Repsol (ticker: REP) accompanied by government officials, visited Tehran Monday to discuss the details.
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh met with Spanish Industry, Energy and Tourism Minister Jose Manuel Soria and declared Iran’s willingness to develop the infrastructure Spain needs to supply Europe with gas from the South Pars gas field.
“In the meeting we explained Iran’s facilities and programs for development of oil, gas and petrochemical industries to the Spanish companies and they expressed their interest to cooperate in these fields,” Zanganeh said. “It was emphasized in the meeting that Iranian and Spanish companies should continue their relations and the Spanish government needs to set the grounds for the presence of their companies in Iran,” he continued.
Spanish Minister of Public Works and Transport Ana Pastor announced that Spain and Iran will sign “in the shortest time possible,” a new transport agreement, which is expected to link Tehran with Madrid and Barcelona through direct flights, adding that two Iranian organizations and a Spanish airliner have already shown interest.
Pastor made the announcement at the opening of a summit in the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines in Tehran, where she arrived on an official trip with the Spanish foreign minister, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, and industry minister, Jose Manuel Soria.
She explained that the civil aviation authorities have already agreed to open the way for the signing of the new transport agreement as soon as possible, under which direct flights between the two countries will be resumed, whether passenger flights or cargo.
There are two Iranian companies and a Spanish firm interested in carrying out these direct flights to foster the strengthening of economic, cultural and social relations between the two countries, according to Pastor.COMMENTARY: Likely the two Iranian carriers are Iran Air and Mahan Air, while the Spanish carrier could be Iberia Airlines, which currently flies non-direct flights to Tehran. Mahan Air has been expanding its service to Europe, which includes A346 aircraft recently acquired with Iraqi assistance.
Speaking at a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran on Monday, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo hailed the JCPOA, saying his country is considering cooperation with Iran on all fronts.
Zarif touched upon his meeting earlier in the day with the Spanish foreign minister, and said a whole range of issues were brought up for discussion during the talks. “I had different political and regional discussions with the Spanish foreign minister, and we [also] talked about a railroad, transportation and economic infrastructure,” said Zarif in the press briefing.
Among other issues discussed, said the Iranian foreign minister, were human rights and refugees’ rights as well as the situation in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan plus the Yemen crisis. He said they also discussed regional threats which, as Zarif added, have resulted in security threats and the recent refugee crisis.COMMENTARY: There is little doubt that since the signing of JCPOA the Iranian foreign ministry is the busiest in the region. It may even be said to possess the region's diplomatic center of gravity.
Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni has met with Iranian officials in Tehran in the latest visit by European officials seeking closer trade ties
Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni held talks with officials in Tehran on Tuesday, the latest in a series of European officials seeking closer trade ties with Iran after its nuclear deal with world powers.
Senior government ministers from France, Germany and Serbia have been among visitors to Iran since the July 14 accord that raised the prospect of banking and trade sanctions on Iran being lifted, perhaps around the end of this year.
Investment bank Mediobanca said in a statement that it, along with Italy's development ministry and export credit agency SACE, had signed a memorandum of understanding during the visit with Iran's economy ministry and its central bank.
The aim of the agreement was "to facilitate future economic and commercial relations between the two countries," the statement said.COMMENTARY: During the negotiation process for JCPOA the Italians were particularly supportive of a deal, with an eye towards expanded business opportunities made possible with the lifting of sanctions.
The French foreign minister arrived in Tehran on Wednesday, the latest in a string of visits by officials from European countries seeking closer economic and political ties with Iran after the nuclear agreement this month.
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The visit by Mr. Fabius comes as French companies such as Airbus and the carmakers Peugeot Citroën and Renault have been seeking to renew ties with local producers that were cut because of the sanctions.
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Mr. Fabius’s trip follows a visit to Tehran on Tuesday by Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign policy chief. Last week, the German vice chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, who is also his country’s economy minister, arrived with a business delegation. Mr. Fabius will also have several trade-related meetings.Meanwhile in Washington DC during congressional hearing on JCPOA, much of the talk continued to be focused on potential war with Iran, effectively surrendering considerable post-sanctions business opportunities to the Europeans and Asians. As Tim Maverick at the Wall Street Daily laments in a recent piece subtitled "No lunch for us":
Everyone knows that sanctions on Iran will be lifted eventually.
That’s why European and Asian companies are already in discussions with Iranian officials and businessmen to establish new relationships or to reignite old ones.
But American corporations are being held back by strict, decades-old restrictions on doing business with Iran. Foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies may be allowed to invest in Iran. But, understandably, executives are wary of running afoul of the politicians.
So, while our top companies stand on the sidelines, our competitors will eat our lunch in Iran.
And it will be quite a tasty lunch, too. China is now Iran’s largest trading partner. And German exports to Iran are expected to quickly grow four-fold from 2.4 billion euros last year to 10 billion euros. Plus, Tehran already said that it will need in excess of $200 billion in investments for its oil and gas industry.
There’s a lot more than energy at play here, too. Iran is also an industrial powerhouse in waiting.
The country is the world’s biggest exporter of cement, and ranks in the world’s top 15 for both steel production and auto production. Iran is also recognized in the global medical community for its work in stem cell research and nanotechnology.
In other words, Iran isn’t a run-of-the-mill emerging market.
The country has little debt, unlike other emerging markets, and has a stock market with a market capitalization of about $110 billion. The Iranian market soared last year in anticipation of a deal, rising a record 130%!
