Tehran, Iran, Jan.13
Trend:
Iran and India can be complementary economies in energy field, Iran's deputy foreign minister for economic diplomacy Gholamreza Ansari said, Trend reports citing Donyaye Eghtesad newspaper.
He pointed out that Iran`s revenues in rupee from oil exports to India can be exchanged to euro via the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), which is a transaction mechanism.
SPV is a financial mechanism that the European Union has proposed to facilitate trade with Iran bypassing US sanctions.
“SPV is a mechanism that can receive Iranian money or exchange money for Iranian oil. Therefore, SPV is a transaction mechanism. If SPV is formed in Europe, we can exchange part of our rupee revenues to euro through an account that SPV introduces,”
He went on to praise Indian’s role during previous sanctions and said that India has actively worked with Iran during the last period of sanctions, and kept open the credit lines for Iranian purchases and some large projects that time.
“On the other hand, it should be noted that the economy of Iran and India are two complementary economies. Iran is a major energy producer, and India has always been a major energy consumer,” said Ansari.
India has always looked at Iran as a source of energy, he said. “Energy has put together Iran and India over the long period. Some Indian refineries were set up for Iranian oil.”
“In this period, Iran and India can be two complementary countries in the energy field. Iran is a great route for Indian products to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Russia. Russia is an ally and old partner of India, and Indian goods can be imported into northern Europe,” he added.
He pointed out that Iran is the exporter of mine raw materials and the consumer of mine products.
“More importantly, India has a one billion population market and can be consumer of Iranian products, such as dried fruit.”
“Iranian dates in India are very popular. The same can be said about dried fruits, saffron and other products,” he said.
Further, Ansari said that one of the most important discussions between Iran and India is the about the exclusion of Chabahar port from US sanctions due to its role in access to Afghanistan.
“Iran is to receive funds to develop Chabahar port from India,” added the deputy minister.
Referring to some arguments about the competition between the ports of Gwadar and Chabahar, he said that the two ports have different functions. The direction of Chabahar is from south to the north, which means Chabahar port is to connect Afghanistan, Central Asia and Russia, while Gwadar is going to connect to Oman sea, added Ansari.