Official: Iran-eu trade stood at €22b in 2017
The value of trade between Iran and the European Union (EU), which has witnessed a significant growth in the past few years, reached €22 billion in 2017, said the vice president of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA).
The value of trade transactions between Iran and the EU stood at €14 billion in 2013, said Pedram Soltani addressing the opening ceremony of the third international exhibition for metal working titled ‘AMB Iran 2018’ in Tehran on Tuesday, IRNA reported.
Describing economic relations between Iran and Europe as age-old, he noted that during the past years, trade ties between the two sides have been subject to ups and downs due to certain political reasons.
Soltani added many European states intend to open offices in Iran to develop and improve their relations and transactions, respectively, with Iranian firms.
He said given US new approach and its unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – signed between Iran and P5+1, the process of expanding trade and industrial relations between Iran and Europe is expected to face obstacles.
“These obstacles will become more significant where relations between major European firms and their Iranian counterparts are concerned. This is because these large companies do not seek to act against the interests they have in the US.”
Quoting an EU official he said following the recent event and reinstatement of secondary sanctions against Iran, the EU realized how vulnerable its integrated governance is and that its policies can be threatened by a tyrannical country.
“We, as representatives of Iran’s private sector, announce that Iranian companies are full of enthusiasm for greater interaction with their European counterparts and call for efforts to maintain Iran’s economic relations with the EU and prevent political issues from impacting and overshadowing such ties.”
He stressed that the Middle Eastern states’ lasting peace, greater security and significant growth as well as European countries’ improved welfare, tranquility and heightened security would become possible only by threading the path of economy, interaction and cooperation.
Commenting on upcoming visits by Iranian president to Switzerland and Austria, Soltani said the Iranian domestic private sector will also accompany Hassan Rouhani in these trips, which indicates that Iran and the EU are determined to expand and improve their relations and interactions with each other.
Companies from 14 countries have taken part in the ‘AMB Iran 2018’ which will be open to visitors until June 29.
The participants are from Iran, Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, China, Taiwan, Japan, the Czech Republic and Russia.
The expo’s opening ceremony was attended by Reza Rahmani, an Iranian deputy mine, industry and trade minister as well as Bulgarian Ambassador to Iran Christo Stefanov Polendakov.