TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran and Germany are waiting for the JCPOA deal in Vienna to boost their bilateral trade which has been affected by the sanctions.
In the farewell ceremony of the outgoing Germany’s special economic envoy and the CEO of Iran-Germany Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ms. Dagmar von Benstein which was held by Tehran Chamber of Commerce, both sides emphasized that Iran and Germany are waiting for a green light from Vienna talks to boost their trade.
In the ceremony, Head of Tehran Chamber of Commerce Mr. Masoud Khansari hailed Von Benstein for her performance during her tenure in the chamber which developed trade relations between the private sectors of the two countries.
Khansari said that in 2015 and after the JCPOA and return of many countries to Iran’s market, a new chapter began in the Iran-Germany trade relations but sudden exit of the U.S. and reimposition of sanctions did not let many agreements and cooperation contracts between Iranian and foreign companies especially Germans be completed. He added that Germany has always been one of Iran’s major trade partners and in recent years, Tehran Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Iran-Germany Chamber of Commerce and Union of Bavarian Economy as well as the private sector has done their best to keep the economic relations of both countries and to keep it on course of growth.
He reiterated that the ground for broadening economic relations of Iran and Germany is ready in case the JCPOA talks in Vienna ends successfully. He expressed hope Ms. Von Benstein’s substitute would plan for developing economic relations between Iran and Germany.
Von Benstein, for her part, said that she is leaving Tehran after four years of efforts to improve trade relations of the two countries, adding that today the trade volume of Iran and Germany is around $2b and there are grounds which can increase the figure considerably.
She went on to say that Union of Bavarian Industry has been one of the major partners in broaden trade ties and hailed head of Tehran’ Chamber of Commerce for his support and trust. She added that sanctions have been the major hurdle in way of trade between Iran and Germany but today Germany is Iran’s major trade partner in the EU and it has shown its friendship and faithfulness to Iran and Iranians.
Then German Ambassador to Tehran, Hans-Udo Muzl, for his part, pointed to the talks which are underway in Germany, adding that Germany is preparing itself for cooperation with Iran which is possible through revival of the JCPOA. He noted that some famous German companies are preparing for this cooperation, adding that for example Germany’s Lufthansa has resumed its flight for one year from Frankfurt to Tehran and it has good cooperation with Iranian airlines and this action is the first step for trust building.
He reiterated that long term cooperation is only possible through joint projects and not by only selling goods.
