Riccardo Monti, the president of the Italian Trade Promotion Agency (known by its Italian acronym ICE) has said that Italy can be a good partner for Iran which is after reliable partners for joint investment and technology transfer.
The president of ICE whose agency is tasked with promoting Italy’s overseas trade made the comment in an interview with the Italian official news agency (ANSA) on the eve of his Iran trip. The following is the translation of a report in Farsi the Islamic Republic News Agency filed on November 28 on the comments of the Italian official:
Riccardo Monti said: “This delegation is the biggest Italian economic delegation which goes to Iran. In recent months Iran has made it clear that it does not solely intend to purchase foreign products, rather it is trying to find reliable partners for joint investment as well as transfer of technology for domestic production. Italy can be a good partner for Iran in this regard.
“Entrepreneurs accompanying the Italian delegation are mostly active in areas such as mechanics, medical equipment, building materials, vehicles, renewable energies and the environment.
“On this economic mission, more than 700 meetings are to be held between the Italian and Iranian companies in Tehran to enable cooperation on different fronts from joint investment to trade deals.
“Italian entrepreneurs are interested in returning to a country where efficient entrepreneurs are supported by a strong hands-on approach of the government to the economy.”
Representatives of as many as 178 Italian companies, 20 associations and 12 banking groups (370 in total) travel to Iran as part of Italy’s biggest economic mission to Tehran.
Italy’s Economic Development Ministry, Foreign Ministry, ICE, and the Unions of Industries and of Chambers of Commerce planned the visit after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was signed. The visit comes as sanctions against Iran are on the verge of being lifted.
The Italian economic delegation aims to both spot and deepen the prospects of trade and industrial cooperation between Iran and the Italian manufacturing sector that intends to win back its past status in Iran.
Bilateral transactions between the two countries stood at €7 billion before the imposition of economic sanctions, and it has now shrunk to about €1.6 billion.
