During a Wednesday visit to Bushehr province in southwestern Iran, where he met with businesspeople in the region, Kahiluoto said Finland is determined to revive its old economic relations with Iran.

“Given the 90-year history of economic ties between Finland and the Islamic Republic of Iran, we are seeking to restore these good relations,” he was quoted as saying by IRNA’s Persian service.

Finland’s expression of eagerness for closer ties with Iran comes after a recent China-brokered agreement that restored diplomatic relations between the Islamic Republic and Saudi Arabia after seven years.

The deal set in motion a new dynamic in the region, with a number of other Arab states voicing a willingness to mend fences with Iran.

“We know that relations between Iran and the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq and recently with Saudi Arabia have improved,” Kahiluoto said.

“Given that Finland is also a trading partner of many of these countries… we can also find more economic opportunities,” he added.

Bushehr is home to some of the most important commercial ports in southern Iran and features a number of major oil and gas facilities and industrial projects.

Considering that Finland is located at the northern end of the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC), Kahiluoto said, “Anything related to transportation and ports is important for this country.”

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Mohammad Hossein Nicknam, director of the International Affairs Department at the Ministry of Health met separately with Ambassador of the Republic of Finland to Tehran Kari Kahiluoto and Poland chargé d’affaires Wojciech Unolt, in a meeting in Tehran on Wednesday.

Kahiluoto has announced readiness to develop health diplomacy with Iran, highlighting that Iran has been successful in the field of health.

Iran is a rich and successful country in the field of health, and the development of cooperation should be completely bilateral and city-to-city, company-to-company, and university-to-university, he stated, IRNA reported.

Referring to Finland’s good experiences in improving the health and insurance system, public health, referral system, new family laws, and anti-coronavirus experiences, Nicknam called for the exchange of experiences between the two countries in these areas and the cooperation of pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies.

In April, Health Minister Bahram Einollahi said that developing international health relations with different countries and organizations is one of the government’s strategies. Unolt also announced his country’s readiness to cooperate with the Islamic Republic in the field of health.

One of the projects we are implementing in Iran is in the field of pediatric neurosurgery, which is called Isfahan Children.

Nicknam also stressed the readiness of the Ministry of Health to develop health cooperation, establish a joint cooperation committee and sign a memorandum of understanding in this regard.

Earlier in April, Health Minister Bahram Einollahi said that developing international health relations with different countries and organizations is one of the government’s strategies.

Fortunately, the young generation of Iran has reached great achievements by creating knowledge-based firms.

“Health affects all political, social and economic dimensions of societies,” he said, adding, therefore, we suggest to all foreign embassies to plan and act specifically for health by appointing a health deputy in their system.

Iran is ready to cooperate with other countries in holding international conferences in the field of health, he concluded.

Health development

Based on innovative indicators of health technology development in 2021, Iran was ranked 60th among 132 countries, which shows an improvement of 60 steps compared to 2014, the deputy health minister for research and technology, has announced.

A total of 1,670 knowledge-based firms are operating in the health sector, ISNA quoted Younes Panahi as saying.

He added that there are 13 science and technology parks and 95 technology growth centers in the field of health, while 343 technological products have so far been licensed, and 335 inventions in medical sciences have been patented.

The health technology development is evaluated by the Global Innovation Index with seven indicators, including institutional structure, human capital and research, infrastructure, market and business complexity, technological knowledge, and creativity, he explained.

FB/MG

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According to the public relations of the Ports and Marine Organization Department of Sistan and Baluchestan, Finnish Ambassador Kahiluoto during his visit was accompanied by Director General of the Organization Mr. Behrouz Aqaee. This visit was done in line with studying investment opportunities and grounds for developing cooperation in the transportation and transit sectors.

In the meeting with Mr. Aqaee, Finnish diplomat said that Chabahar Port purchases top technologies and Finland is one of presenter of top technologies welcomes offering services in Chabahar Port.

He reiterated that Chabahar Port in terms of humanitarian aids to Afghanistan and connection with Asian countries is very important for Finland. He noted that in the visit he got acquainted well and will refer its studies and findings to Finnish companies regarding the capacities of Chabahar Port.

Then Mr. Aqaee, for his part, said that this year most of ships docking in the port are over 70,000 tons, adding that Chabahar Port has progressed in the developmental issues and infrastructures very well and this port sees no limit in offering services and any country wishing to invest in the port will be welcomed.

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The double tax deal had been signed earlier in the day during the presence of the Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavistoin in the headquarters of the Iranian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance where he met Iranian finance minister Ehsan Khandouzi.

The report quoted Khandouzi as saying during the meeting that the tax agreement could enable Iran and Finland to restore their economic relations to the levels seen before the U.S. sanctions hit trade between the two in 2018.

While hailing humanitarian stances adopted by Scandinavian countries like Finland, Khandouzi said Iran hopes to increase its imports of pharmaceuticals from the country as a result if signing the tax treaty.

The minister said that Iran’s growing trade relations with countries like Finland shows that the country will no longer limit itself to economic ties with Britain, France and Germany as the three major European powerhouses.

For his part, Finland’s Haavistoin hailed Finland’s booming relations with Iran and said that senior government authorities in the country are keen on expanding bilateral ties, according to remarks covered in IRNA’s report.

The Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement signed with Finland is Iran’s 52nd, said the IRNA report, adding that the country prepares more such deals to boost trade and business ties with other countries.

The treaty comes amid Iran’s efforts to provide certainty for business and trade activity and to strengthen economic ties with the rest of the world as the country uses increased trade revenues to offset the impacts of American sanctions on its crude exports.

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Speaking to ILNA, Jamili said that the launch of the Iran-Finland corridor can help countries like India, Iran’s neighbors and Arab states to reduce costs of their trade and if Iran has lost part of the main competitions due to different reasons, the corridor can be important for it to take advantage of its ties with those countries.

On the latest condition of trade between Tehran and Helsinki, he said the Scandinavian countries are different from other countries in terms of population, consumption pattern and other public behaviors, adding that considering this point that for years Iran have been away from the first level markets of the world due to different reasons and so far it has not had cheap transportation, the country has faced restrictions with Finland and the trade volume with Helsinki is not considerable.

He added that Finland strongly abides by international laws and regulations and it also pursues sanctions more serious than those who have imposed. Therefore restrictions are created for trade between Iran and Finland which do not let relations between the two countries develop, he noted.

Touching on the launch of Iran-Finland corridor, he said that the corridor can compensate the past restrictions and weaknesses, adding that although Iran does not have the trade of goods with Finland, being in this corridor can pave the ground for the next years for a probable new opening in the trade between Tehran and Helsinki.

Jamili reiterated that Iran’s approach for trade with Finland should be focused on technology, and in its relation with Finland, Iran’s priority should be to obtain technology, presence in new businesses and taking advantage of Finland’s studies in different fields like agriculture.

He said when it is talked about trade, everybody thinks of exchange of physical goods but in the today’s world different issues like transfer of technology can be a trade and the Finns can help Iran in this regard as Iran has strong human resources which can be combined with the capabilities of Finland.

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Speaking in the 13 national conference and exhibition of bitumen, asphalt and related machineries, Qasemi said that in the field of construction either in transportation or housing the country needs a change in method and using modern technology. He added that this capability exists in the country and strong knowledge-based companies are active in the country and we have seen some changes in methods recently.

He went on to say that Iran and Pakistan have also agreed to facilitate truck traffic from China to Europe.

Qassemi criticized the current construction methods and stated that the Ministry under his leadership would use experts to leverage modern building and roads construction technology to prevent energy dissipation and reduce renovation costs.

He referred to his recent meetings with Pakistani officials and noted the two countries have agreed to facilitate the traffic of Iranian trucks directly to China and Pakistani truck to Europe.

Iran has great advantages in transportation sector, he said, pointing to the passage of a Finnish cargo train which took 21 days to reach to its destination, while it had to spend three months to travel though marine routes.

He also added that the Ministry of Roads and Urban development was determined to make a great transition in railroads and highways as well as the relation transportation fleet.

Qasemi then announced the launch of container transit route to Finland and said according to the agreements, this transit route will be launched soon and it will cut short the time of transporting goods between Iran and Finland, adding that a consignment which currently reaches Finland in 3 months will then be delivered in 21 days.

He noted that in the rail sector, the country is behind the Sixth Development Plan, adding that although some 15,000 kilometers of railways have been built in the country, its productivity is low and the national fleet is old and almost worn-out.

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Speaking to ILNA and touching upon the latest condition of the trade between Iran and Finland, Jamili said that the Iran-Finland Joint Chamber of Commerce has been established in recent month, and said Iran should not forget the necessity of ties with countries because countries like Finland can help Iran to develop its industries in different field.

On the goals of the chamber, he said Finland has high talent in transfer and export of new technology and it can be considered by Iran for developing its current industries. He added that Finland is among the top countries in the field of start-ups and it can be a good model for Iran which is itself among the top countries in the Middle East.

Jamili went on to say that the issue of water is one of the vital issues in the life and modern world and not only Iran is struggling with it but also most countries have serious restrictions and problems in the field of water and they are looking for reforming the consumption and management models. He noted that in fact Finland acts much distinguished in this field comparing to other countries and Iran can take advantage of this capacity for solving some part of its water shortage.

He also pointed to the importance of Finland in the field of education, and said in the field of education Finland also has different modern, sophisticated and distinguished models which can advance some works to help the country’s education climate.

Jamili reiterated that Iran’s presence and relation in Europe has been mostly in West and South Europe and it has paid less attention to the Nordic and Scandinavian areas while there are many commonalities in this field for Iran, and the capacity of Iranians residing in those areas have always been unnoticed.

He said Denmark, Finland, and Sweden are of those countries which can have potential capacities for Iran to take advantage of it.

On the trade volume of the two countries, he said that the trade volume is not a criterion for weighing the level of the ties, adding that Finnish companies are essential conservatives and even after the signing of the JCPOA, they were among the last countries which expressed their interests for cooperation with Iran.

He expressed hope that by the launch of the Iran-Finland Joint Chamber of Commerce, the ground for transparent trade between Tehran and Helsinki would be paved and the trade volume of the two countries moves towards considerable rise.

He admitted that the trade volume of the two countries has declined this year comparing to the preceding year.

Jamili also stressed that the geography of trade and trade exchanges in the region, South East Asia, China, India, the Persian Gulf states, CIS and East Europe states is changing and new balance will be formed and some of them will be because of the routes of trade exchange and logistics.

He reiterated that recent tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan will have no impact on Iran’s trade with Finland.

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In the meeting, the founders of the chamber elected board of directors and chairman and explored ways to boost cooperation between the two countries especially between their private sectors.

Speaking in the meeting, Deputy Head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) for International Affairs Mohammad-Reza Karbasi said despite the existing capacities, the trade volume between the two countries is insignificant and it is estimated at $7.5m.

According to him, both countries have cooperated in the fields of the construction materials, petrochemicals, dried fruits and medicines  and Iran’s major imports from Finland has been technology.

Karbasi went on to say that Iran-Finland Joint Committee had been established about one and a half years ago and after some actions and boosting ties, it could be considered as one of the most active committees at the ICCIMA and therefore, both sides decided to launch the Iran-Finland Joint Chamber of Commerce. He also called support of embassies necessary for boosting trade, adding that one of the demands of Iranian economic activists is to ease visa process and banking actions as well as easing the way for the presence of Iranian traders in the upcoming exhibition in Finland.

He also announced urged Iran’s embassy in Finland to support Iranian traders in Finland for restoring more effective ties with the Finnish bodies.

Then Vice President of Finland Chamber of Commerce and Executive Director of International Chamber of Commerce ICC in Finland Mr. Timo Vuori, for his part, in this online meeting pointed to the damages which the COVID-19 pandemic has caused in Iran, saying that massive vaccination is very important against COVID-19 and in this line, Finland has started vaccination of its people and it will spare no support in providing Iran with required vaccines.

He then pointed to the challenges resulted by the sanctions, saying that everybody knows that cooperation has not been so easy during the sanctions era and during in this period, the Finnish Chamber of Commerce has had meetings with economic activists and traders and they know the challenges and expressed his gratitude to the embassies of both countries, expressing hope the cooperation between Iran and Finland would continue like the past.

According to Vuori, Iran-Finland Joint Chamber of Commerce is a good and proper mechanism and should be supported in order that companies can restore broad trade relations. He also said cooperation with the joint chamber is a very necessary act and emphasized that in the future, these two bodies will find ways for expansion of cooperation and will take the operational steps.

Then head of Iran-Finland Joint Committee Mr. Gholam-Hossein Jamili, for his part, expressed hope on the launch of Iran-Finland Joint Chamber of Commerce and called it a beginning of a new chapter in this field, adding that traders should develop ties based on logical trade principles without any political approach and the chamber will have a colorful role in it.

He claimed after putting behind the coronavirus crisis, the condition for cooperation will get better. He then referred to an exhibition which is to be held in Finland in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship and startups and said urged Finnish Embassy and Finland Chamber of Commerce to ease the presence of Iranian enthusiasts in this big event.

Then voting process for electing the board of directors continued and eight were elected to the board of Iran-Finland Joint Chamber of Commerce.

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In this meeting, the Iranian side expressed willingness for developing mutual economic relations on the basis of technical knowledge and technology, the portal of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) reported.

Speaking in the meeting, Jamili noted that Finland is one of the most influential and pioneering European countries in the field of startups, knowledge-based, and innovative and creative companies.

“We want to change the focus of our cooperation from the physical exchange of goods to the development of cooperation on the basis of technical knowledge and technology,” Jamili stressed.

He referred to a recent meeting between Iranian businessmen and Finland’s ambassador to Tehran, saying that in that meeting a report on the status of the two countries’ trade was presented.

He further expressed dissatisfaction with the low level of trade exchanges between the two countries, saying: “Finland is one of the important countries that, despite its effective role in the field of technology and its share in international markets, unfortunately, has had a very low level of trade with Iran over the last decade.”

“Part of this [the low level of trade] has been due to insufficient mutual knowledge about the two countries’ markets and part due to the lack of serious will on the traders’ side,” the official added.

Elsewhere in the meeting, the Finish official underlined Iran’s great capacities and potentials for investment and trade, saying: “There are many opportunities and good economic incentives to invest in Iran; We can work together to identify these opportunities.”

He suggested holding training courses for Iranian entrepreneurs by ICCIMA in collaboration with the Finish Embassy in Tehran.

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In the meeting, Shafei deplored over the decline of Iran’s trade with EU states by $30b due to the U.S. sanctions that both parties should not pass it easily. He then said Finland is of the European states which enjoys high economic growth and level of public welfare, and then pointed to using the experience of this country by Iran in the current condition.

He expressed interests for using the experience of Finland in the fields of Aquatic animal industry and marine industries as well as appropriate water usage through the new methods, and said these fields are important for Iran because Iran is located on a massive dry arid area and it needs to take advantage of modern agro methods in the future and for this reason it can have good cooperation with Finland.

Then Finnish Ambassador Norvanto, for his part, pointed to the new government in Iran which is taking office and said the current condition is a very critical stage for Iran and Finland is waiting for the new government’s decisions in the field of economy.

He then pointed to the good relation between Tehran and Helsinki and pointed to the joint meetings of the two countries at the embassy and added that after some useful talks, one can hope that both countries take long stride towards picking up the bilateral trade relation. He added that the embassy is tasked to pick up the relations in all spheres especially in the economy and expressed hope after taking office of the new government, this path would continue.

Norvanto emphasized that expansion of economic relations of the two states requires identifying the important grounds for cooperation and termed it important more participations from the tradesmen of the two countries for receiving updated information from Iran and Finland’s economic condition.

Then Shafei said sanctions have had unpleasant effects on economic relations of Iran with other countries especially Finland but the future is bright for Iran that it can compensate the past. He said unfortunately sanctions have caused the trade between Iran and EU states to decline by $30b and it will affect the economy of both sides and one should not pass it easily.

He also welcomed Norvanto’s suggestion for boosting the level of knowledge of tradesmen of the two countries from the conditions in Finland and Iran.

Then Norvanto expressed hope by removal of the sanctions, the ground for expansion of trade relation of Iran and Finland would be provided.

Earlier in the day, Norvanto had meeting with Iranian business activists where the participants exchanged views for boosting bilateral cooperation.

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