TEHRAN (Iran News) According to the Public Relations Department of the Isfahan Chamber of Commerce, representatives from the Chambers of Commerce of Basra, Nasiriyah, and Iraq’s Ministry of Oil met with Isfahan’s economic stakeholders to expand cooperation in the fields of economy, investment, and energy. Business representatives from both countries emphasized the development of trade exchanges, joint investments, and the implementation of industrial projects across various sectors.

Mohammad Reza Gol-Ahmad, Chairman of the Corporate Social Responsibility Commission and a member of the Isfahan Chamber of Commerce Board, highlighted the province’s diverse economic strengths, saying:

“With the presence of major companies in oil, petrochemicals, steel, stone, construction equipment, food industries, textiles, and medical equipment, Isfahan is ready to multiply its trade volume with Iraq.”

Gol-Ahmad announced that plans are underway to hold specialized meetings between the Isfahan Chamber of Commerce and representatives from Iraq’s various economic sectors to identify mutual industrial capacities and needs.

He added: “If the Iraqi side specifies its needs, Isfahani companies have the ability to supply the requested goods and equipment immediately. It was also suggested that during their stay in Isfahan, representatives of Iraq’s Chamber of Commerce hold daily meetings with specialized industrial groups to conduct practical trade negotiations.”

Luwei Jumaa Abadi Al-Hajjaj, a member of the Basra Chamber of Commerce Board, stated:

“The city of Basra is fully prepared to attract investment and develop economic cooperation with Isfahan Province.”

Expressing gratitude to the Isfahan Chamber of Commerce for hosting the event, he said:

“We would like to create a joint plan to identify cooperation opportunities and implement investment projects between the two sides.”

Al-Hajjaj added that once coordination is complete, an official invitation will be sent to continue negotiations between the Basra and Isfahan Chambers of Commerce.

Maher Shaker Tobia, Vice President of the Nasiriyah Chamber of Commerce and Director of its International Relations Department, emphasized Iraq’s supportive policies:

“The Iraqi government, aiming to strengthen domestic production and attract foreign investment, has provided special facilities for Iranian companies in its industrial zones.”

He added: “Land in the industrial areas of Dhi Qar and Basra provinces is offered free of charge to investors, and projects implemented on Iraqi soil will enjoy a 15-year tax exemption along with special government support.”

Tobia stressed that the creation of a joint working group between the Chambers of Commerce of Isfahan, Nasiriyah, and Basra could pave the way for practical projects and increased economic interaction between the two countries.

Ahmad Latif, Consul General of the Republic of Iraq in Isfahan, underlined the importance of expanding economic cooperation between Iraq and Iran—particularly with Isfahan Province—saying:

“Investment opportunities in Iraq are vast, and there is room for collaboration across various sectors between the two countries.”

Referring to his recent meetings with Isfahan’s governor and officials, he added:

“A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Iraqi Consulate and the Deputy Governor of Isfahan, and we are currently coordinating its implementation.”

Latif described Isfahan as a province rich in industrial and economic capacity and emphasized that bilateral cooperation would be mutually beneficial.

Ali Abdulkarim Nasser, CEO of Iraq Oil Pipelines Company, stated that the purpose of the high-level delegation from Iraq’s Ministry of Oil visiting Isfahan was to expand oil-related cooperation between the two countries.

He said: “This delegation, led by Engineer Ali Mousavi, Head of the Group and CEO of Iraq Oil Pipelines Company, traveled to Isfahan with the support of the Iraqi Prime Minister and Minister of Oil.”

Nasser added that a representative office of Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has been established in Baghdad in cooperation with Iran’s Ministry of Oil to enhance oil-sector interactions between the two nations at both governmental and private levels.

He concluded that the Iraqi delegation’s presence in Isfahan reflects the significance of energy cooperation between the two countries.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) According to the Isfahan Chamber of Commerce’s Public Relations Office, both parties highlighted the importance of utilizing shared historical and cultural values to promote bilateral economic collaboration.

Amir Keshani, President of the Isfahan Chamber, noted that Isfahan has long been a symbol of peaceful coexistence among different faiths. “For centuries, Muslims, Armenians, Jews, and Zoroastrians have lived together in Isfahan without recorded religious conflict,” he said. “The friendly relationship between the people of Isfahan and the Armenian community — as well as the Republic of Armenia — can serve as a strong foundation for expanding cultural and economic partnerships.”

Keshani added that Armenian tourists have increasingly visited Isfahan in recent months, contributing to the city’s cultural vitality and local economy. “The commercial opportunities between Iran and Armenia are exceptional,” he said. “Iranian companies can expand part of their operations in Armenia, benefiting both sides.”

Grigor Hovhannisyan Hakobyan, Armenia’s Ambassador to Iran, expressed his country’s keen interest in strengthening ties with Isfahan, particularly in the fields of energy, infrastructure, and trade. “These understandings will soon be implemented and will lay the groundwork for expanded economic relations between our two nations,” he stated.

The ambassador also pointed to the construction of a second border bridge between Iran and Armenia as a major opportunity. “This project will play an important role in facilitating transportation and increasing trade volume,” Hakobyan said.

He noted that Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) provides a favorable platform for Iranian investors seeking to access new regional markets.

Fereshteh Amini, Chair of the Export Development and Import Management Commission of the Isfahan Chamber and a member of its Board of Representatives, highlighted Armenia’s transparent trade environment. “Easy access to accurate market data in Armenia enables Iranian businesses to conduct reliable market research,” she explained.

She added that Armenia’s geographic proximity offers a logistical advantage. “Iranian goods can reach Armenian markets within a few days, reducing warehousing costs and working capital requirements,” Amini said.

Amini also emphasized that Iranian exports to Armenia are exempt from customs duties, encouraging greater trade flow. “With better public awareness and use of existing capacities, achieving substantial bilateral trade between the two countries is entirely within reach,” she concluded.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) Mojgan Izadi, an Official in the Chamber of Commerce in Isfahan, in central Iran, said on Wednesday that the dish had been registered on WIPO’s patent list.

Beef, yogurt, sugar, and saffron are ingredients of Khoresht-e Maast, Izadi said.She said food is considered a part of the intangible heritage of any region, adding that obtaining patents for traditional dishes can boost tourism in those areas.

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One of the main inaugurations was the beginning of the second phase of the major project for the transferring of water from the Sea of Oman to Isfahan with the aim of supplying water to the industrial sector in the province.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the mentioned project, Raisi told the reporters that the implementation of this project has accelerated and so far 50 percent of it has been implemented.

Addressing the same ceremony, Energy Minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian said the main consumption of this water will be in the industry sector, and a part is also planned for drinking water in this region, and it can also be used in the agriculture sector of the province.

With the implementation of this project, the surface and underground water resources of Isfahan province can be used more in the agricultural sector, the minister added.

The first phase of Mobarakeh Steel Company’s Shahid Kazemi power plant was another project put into operation by the president during his visit to Isfahan.

At the first phase the power plant will have a capacity of 307 megawatts and when completed the output capacity of the plant is going to reach 914 MW.

As reported, 200 trillion rials (about $401.9 million) has been invested by Mobarakeh Steel Company to complete this project.

The project is the third power plant made by the industrial sector in Iran to supply their electricity needs during the peak consumption period.

Heading a delegation, President Raisi arrived in Isfahan on Friday morning and was welcomed by provincial officials.

EF/MA

Photo: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi inaugurates a major power plant project in Isfahan on Friday

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Workshops led by Polish and Iranian researchers and designers Dr. Joanna Jurga and Fater Saadat Niaki focused on addressing post-pandemic challenges such as anxiety and loneliness.

In response, Tehrani and Isfahani students brought forward many practical ideas on how to physically bring people together. Readers are cordially invited to have a look at these designs.

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Iran’s Nour News, affiliated with the country’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), reported on Wednesday that the terrorists, ordered by a foreign intelligence service, smuggled the constituent parts of a micro aerial vehicle and explosive materials from the Kurdistan region into Iran through far-flung and arduous routes, and handed them over to a liaison in a border city in the northwestern part of the country.

The report added that the drone parts and explosives were then assembled at a modern workshop by a group of specialists and were used in the attack.

In a statement early on Sunday, the Iranian Defense Ministry announced that its air defense units had fended off a drone attack on a military workshop in Isfahan.

The ministry said one of the workshop complexes had come under attack from a number of Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs), but the complex’s air defenses successfully repelled the attack.

The unsuccessful attack, according to the ministry, did not cause any loss of life and only led to minor damage to the roof of a workshop. The complex, it added, continues its ordinary operations following the attack.

Since September 24 last year, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has launched several rounds of airstrikes against the positions of the terrorists, who are holed up in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The IRGC has urged the central Iraqi government and authorities in the Kurdistan region to meet their commitments toward Iran and take necessary measures to make the common border between the countries secure.

On November 21, positions of anti-Iran separatist and terrorist groups in northern Iraq came under fresh combined attacks using missiles and kamikaze drones.

The attacks targeted the positions of the notorious so-called Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) and the Komala Party, in the northern Iraqi Kurdistan region, Iran’s Arabic-language al-Alam television news network reported at the time.

According to the network, one attack saw four missiles being fired against a PDKI position in the town of Koy Sanjaq in the region’s Erbil Province. A separate attack featured kamikaze drones smashing into another site belonging to the group near the Baharka Village elsewhere in the region.

Simultaneously, kamikaze drones struck positions associated with Komala across two locations near the city of Sulaymaniyah in the region.

Sabereen News, a Telegram news channel associated with Iraqi anti-terror Popular Mobilization Units or Hashd al-Sha’abi, said the attacks set off warning sirens at the United States’ Consulate in Erbil.

Local Kurdish sources said the attacks had killed as many as 26 members of the terrorist groups.

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A sister city, or twin town, relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.

While there are early examples of international links between municipalities akin to what we call today sister cities or twin towns dating back to the 9th Century, the modern concept was first established and adopted worldwide during the Second World War.

By signing the agreement, a platform for cultural cooperation and tourism activities will be provided for Iran and Uzbekistan, Qodratollah Noroozi, the mayor of Isfahan, said.

Isfahan plans also to sign sister city agreements with Porto in Portugal and Hyderabad in India, he added.

Norouzi went on to say that the twinning agreement between the cities is not only for municipalities’ cooperation, but, all relevant institutions, including universities, chambers of commerce, and other centers, can start their activities under the agreement.

Isfahan and Samarkand can use their commonalities, historical monuments to represent the cultural interactions between Iran and Uzbekistan, he stated, adding, the joint production of books, music, video, and virtual contents to introduce sister relationship and encourage the citizens to visit the other city are other notable programs.

Samarkand’s Mayor Bobumirza Oblakulov, for his part, said that cooperation between the two cities that share the same religion and worldview will lead to the development of international relations between the two countries.

Isfahan is a member of 9 networks of world cities and has so far signed sister city agreements with 13 cities of Xi’an, Kuala Lumpur, Freiburg, Florence, Havana, Lahore, St. Petersburg, Yash, Barcelona, Yerevan, Dakar, Baalbek, and Kuwait.

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Contemporary architectural trends in Isfahan are illustrated in the new episode of the video series on architecture and design “Domus Eyes on Iran”, by the title “Isfahan Persian Gardens and New Urban Trends”. The video documentary was screened yesterday at an event hosted by the Italian Ambassador Giuseppe Perrone at his residence in Farmaniyeh.

The episode follows the recent architectural evolution of the “Garden City”, and the efforts going on in order to preserve its precious green spaces, through the words of architect Shervin Hosseini, born in Isfahan and grown up in Italy.

Mr. Hosseini, through his works “Villa 131” e “Bagh Jannat”, aims at reconnecting contemporary architecture to Isfahan’s roots through the rediscovery of green spaces and desert cities’ wind towers following the traditional Persian “introvert architecture” style.

“Isfahan Persian Gardens and New Urban Trends” illustrates how the years spent in Italy helped Mr. Hosseini gain increasing awareness of the need to connect contemporary architecture to history and specific cultural identities.

“Domus Eyes on Iran” is produced by the Italian Embassy in Tehran in cooperation with the Milan-based famous international magazine Domus.

Now at its seventh episode, the series takes inspiration from select stories published by Domus from the 1940s until present.

The video-documentary “Isfahan Persian Gardens and New Urban Trends” and the previous episodes of the series (“The Tehran’s Contemporary Museum. The Anti-Monument”, “Qajar Tehran. The Glass & Ceramics Museum and the Italian Residence”, “Orsi Khaneh. A Window on Iran’s Unique Blend of History & Modernity”, “Architecture Meets Nature by Sara Kalantary & Reza Sayadian”, “Gaetano Pesce and the Tehran National Library”, “Villa for an Older Brother”) are available for viewing on the social media platforms of the Italian Embassy in Tehran (YouTube, Instagram, Twitter).

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Rasoul Kouhestani, the director-general of the province’s customs department, said the annual export from the province shows 21 percent drop in terms of value, and 16 percent fall in terms of weight.

The official named steel, petrochemical products, and carpet as the major exported products, and Iraq, China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Afghanistan, and Indonesia as the main export markets of the products.

As announced by the head of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), the value of Iran’s non-oil trade stood at $73 billion in the past year.

Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi also put the weight of non-oil trade at 146.4 million tons, and said that the figure shows a 25-million-ton annual decline, which is the result of sanctions and coronavirus pandemic.

Iran’s non-oil export was 112 million tons valued at $34.5 billion, and that of import was 34.4 million tons worth $38.5 billion in the past year, the official added.

Among the country’s non-oil export destinations, China was the first, with importing $8.9 billion worth of products, Iraq was the second with importing $7.3 billion, the United Arab Emirates the third with importing $4.6 billion, Turkey the fourth with importing $2.5 billion, and Afghanistan the fifth with importing $2.2 billion, Mir-Ashrafi announced, and named gasoline, natural gas, polyethylene, propane, and pistachio as Iran’s major exported products during the past year.

He further named Iran’s top sources of non-oil imports in the said time, as China with exporting $9.7 billion worth of products to the Islamic Republic, the UAE with $9.6 billion, Turkey with $4.3 billion, India with $2.1 billion, and Germany with $1.8 billion, respectively, and mentioned corn, cellphone, rice, oil meal and oil seeds, wheat, and raw oil as the major imported items.

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