Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 22
By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:
An Iranian official has voiced his country's interest in partnership with foreign companies for boosting its shipbuilding industry.
Managing Director of Iran Shipbuilding and Offshore Industries Complex Co. (ISOICO) Hamid Rezaeian said that his company has talked to several European and Asian shipbuilders on the participation in projects for building ships in Iran after lifting sanctions.
Iran and the P5+1 group of countries agreed on July 14 to implement the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to curb Tehran's nuclear program, in exchange for lifting the major part of international sanctions on Tehran's economic and banking sectors.
Saying that several meetings have been held with companies from Germany, Italy, South Korea, China and Turkmenistan on this issue, Rezaeian added that his company intends to choose the best partner.
He further noted that his company has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Germany's Nordic Yards company.
ISOICO also plans to launch joint projects with South Korea's Hyundai company, according to Rezaeian.
The long running sanctions imposed by the west on Iran have weakened the country's economy and industry.
The possibility of lifting or suspending the sanctions has created hopes for a boom in Tehran's economy and industrial sectors which had been starved of foreign investment over the past years.
Iranian officials have expressed hope that the sanctions will be lifted in the first quarter of the coming year.