Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 6
By Umid Niayesh, Khalid Kazimov - Trend:
The Czech Republic is interested to make investments in Iran's various fields including pharmaceutics, energy and railways, Lubomir Zaoralek, the foreign minister of the Czech Republic said during his visit to Iran.
He made the remarks during a meeting with the chairman and members of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines (ICCIM) in Tehran on Sept. 6.
Zaoralek, who is heading a high-ranking business delegation of the Czech Republic, underlined that Tehran and Prague will sign a contract on joint investments during his visit, Iran's Fars news agency reported.
As the leader of the Czech economic delegation, he said that this visit made by 60 representatives from the Czech international companies is unprecedented.
All grounds are prepared for boosting mutual ties.
"The trade volume between the two countries was zero last year, therefore the Czech Republic is ready to restart relations with Iran after the sanctions are removed," he said.
"While considering the existing capacity, the current level of the mutual trade is unsatisfactory and it has recently decreased to almost zero," he underlined. "We are seeking for reliable partners and the Islamic Republic can be a good trade partner."
The representatives from the various Czech companies working in the areas of medicine and health, infrastructure equipment, oilfield equipment, railroads and transportation, as well as banking, tourism and aviation industry, are accompanying Zaoralek during the visit.
Meanwhile, the minister underlined that the investments will not be made quickly.
Zaoralek, who is due to stay in Iran until September 7, is scheduled to meet with senior Iranian officials including President Rouhani and Speaker of the Parliament Ali Larijani.
The visit is made as part of a new wave of renewed interest in the ties with Iran after Tehran and the P5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) achieved a final accord on July 14, curbing Iran 's nuclear program in exchange for lifting of most international sanctions.
The trade turnover between Iran and the Czech Republic was $25.88 million during the 12-month period from March 21, 2013, according to the Iran's Customs administration (Iran's fiscal year starts on March 21).
Iran's exports to the Czech Republic accounted for $4.4 million of the mentioned figure. Tehran also imported $21.48 million worth of goods from Prague in the mentioned period.
Iranian Minister of Economy Ali Tayyebnia visited the Czech Republic a few months ago where the two countries signed a bilateral tax waiver contract.
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