(www.irna.ir) - An Austrian official described his country's relations with Iran as 'very friendly'.
Head of the Economic Relations of South and Southeastern Asia in Austria Chamber of Commerce Reinhardt Ziemmerman told that Iran is considered one of the most important economic partners of the country in the South and Southeastern Asia.
"Iran was the first partner of Austria until 2005 in terms of commercial exchanges," he added.
Pointing to the healthy commercial relations between Iran and Austria and Tehran's willingness to access modern technologies, he noted that the volume of trade exchanges shows a five percent decrease in 2006 compared to the same period the previous year. Ziemmerman referred to the political conditions of the region as the major cause of the aforementioned decrease, saying that political situation have always affected economic and commercial ties among countries, reports Trend.
Austrian export of commodities to Iran stood at euro 402 million in 2005, and its import from the Islamic Republic including oil and its derivations was Euro 189 million during the same period, he said.
But the figure dropped to euro 281 and 70 million respectively in 2006, he noted.
Referring to the cancellation of an economic agreement between the railways companies of Iran and Austria, he said that the two countries will continue their friendly economic and political relations.
Touching on a seminar on Kyoto Protocol to be held in Tehran on February 19, he added that Austria will eagerly participate in the seminar to present its experiences in various technological fields.
Ziemmerman also pointed to his country's presence in many specialized exhibitions in Iran as a sign of the friendly ties between the two countries.
He underlined the need for promotion of confidence between businessmen of the two sides, and expressed hope that relations will continue in the future.