Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 17
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
The expanding relationship and engagement between the EU and Iran is a win-win outcome for both sides, as well as entire region, according to Mehrdad Emadi, consultant at the UK-based Betamatrix International Consultancy.
In a visit which follows last year's historic nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic, the EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini, heading a high-ranking political and economic delegation comprised of seven European commissioners arrived in Tehran, Apr. 16 and held talks with senior Iranian officials.
She said that the parties had agreed to cooperate in a number of areas, including the economy, energy, education, migration and transportation, adding the results of their talks would "make a real difference" to the lives of Iranians and Europeans.
While responding to a question about outcomes of the visit, Emadi told Trend that "indeed, I expect it will become a win-win-win result benefiting the EU, Iran and Iran's neighbors."
The visit is a significant step in widening the EU-Iran relationship and may include other areas of cooperation such as support of the European Union toward the attainment of full membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and at a later phase, supporting Iran's desire to become a member country of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), he said.
Furthermore, the deepening of the relationship with Iran can help the EU achieve constructive traction on issues such as the rising flow of immigration from Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey and Syria by facilitating the strengthening of the economic infrastructure in these countries, as well as reaching a lasting peace in the region, the expert added.
Additionally, encouraging Iran to engage in further diplomatic dialogue with Turkey and Saudi Arabia can reduce the existing tension in Syria and Yemen, he said, adding all of these countries are a source of deep concern to the European Union and not only in the context of their displaced population.
"For Iran, a growing and deepening relationship with the EU will provide noticeable improvements in its access to advanced technologies, significant industrial investment in its manufacturing and upgrading of its facilities in its aging energy sector."
He further said that the expected improvements in the Iranian economy have become a sensitive issue in Iran's relationship with both the EU and the United States, since there appears to be a noticeable inertia in allowing unimpeded access to the world financial system.
Iran is especially concerned about banking services, as well as the issuance of export insurance and export guarantees for contracts with Iran, Emadi added.
Emadi said he believes that this visit to Tehran is aimed to deliver tangible and quick results on all these fronts, specifically on access to banking services in the EU.
He noted that if the EU foreign policy chief and the delegation accompanying her show a clear commitment to delivering results, then Iran will have an added incentive to expand links with the EU.
Moreover, the political leadership of Iran will be able to see consistency in EU cooperation following the P5 +1 agreement which will provide further grounds for confidence building between the two sides in other areas of mutual interest, he said.
"In addition to these potential benefits, it is worth remembering that, even with the existing hesitancy of EU banks and industries to engage with Iran, we have already seen business agreements in excess of 14 billion euros with Germany, Italy, France and Spain and further 3.3 billion euros worth of investment from businesses in the UK and the Netherlands is being negotiated," he said.
"These deals have been reached in less than six months following the lifting of the sanctions, and there are estimated 55 billion euros of trade and investment waiting to be discussed between the two sides," Emadi added.
Iran's acceptance as a full member of the WTO will bring about similar benefits to those enjoyed by China. Even-handed treatment of Iranian goods in outside markets, access to global finance globally and investment projects undertaken by Iran outside the country will all be areas of great improvement. Not only Iran, but also its neighbors will get benefits from all these areas.
A great opportunity seems to be slipping away from US businesses caused by the insistence of the US Congress attempting to restrict Iran's access to US financial markets, as well as its currency outside the US, he said.
"If the existing restrictions continue, then we may see a concerted effort by Iran to focus its relationships for technology transfer and trade and investment on the EU and the industrial economies of Asia," he said.
"I suggest that the loss of the American business community could exceed $30 billion in four years" the expert underlined.