The MOU was signed by Amir-Hossein Mirabadi, an official with the Vice Presidency, and Robin Nandy, the representative of UNICEF in Iran, on Saturday, January 27, IRNA reported.

During the meeting, it was decided to benefit from the participation of all related bodies to achieve tangible results and realize the anticipated goals.

One of the most important axes of cooperation between the parties is the technology exchange and transfer of experiences and innovative solutions among Iran and other countries with the participation of UNICEF.

Highlighting the importance of cooperation with international organizations in the fields of science and technology, Mirabadi went on to stress the need for the efficacy of innovation and its tangible effects on society and people.

Expanding the export of knowledge-based products and developing the impacts of knowledge-based companies’ activities on society and the national economy are among the government’s priorities, he added.

The UNICEF official, for his part, expressed hope that the joint program would be fruitful and effective for the target society.

Knowledge-based companies

The total number of knowledge-based companies in the country reached 8,368 companies in the past Iranian calendar year (ended March 20), showing a 90 percent growth year on year.

“Biotechnology, agriculture, and food industries”, “high-tech pharmaceuticals and products for diagnosis and treatment”, “advanced materials and products based on chemical technologies”, “advanced machinery and equipment”, “devices, and medical equipment “, “electricity and electronics”, telecommunication”, “information technology and computer software”, are the fields of activity of the country’s knowledge-based companies.

In line with the law enforced on May 24, 2022, knowledge-based production is a priority of the government so the plan for promoting knowledge-based products has progressed well so far.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has emphasized the importance of boosting domestic production, saying the reason he placed so much emphasis on production was “because it boosts economic growth, it creates employment, it reduces inflation, it increases per capita income and it improves public welfare.”

To this end, the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology has executed and supported several projects toward the goal of boosting knowledge-based production.

Exporting technological products of Iranian knowledge-based companies is one of the important and key programs of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, and in this regard over the past years, with the support of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, the Iranian houses of innovation have been set up in several countries to develop the global market for knowledge-based products.

These centers have already been set up in countries such as Russia, Turkey, China, Syria, Kenya, Armenia, Iraq, and Uzbekistan.

The centers are mainly formed with the investment and support of the private sector to provide the necessary infrastructure for their exports through innovation houses.

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Stretching to 1,072 kilometers, Aras River is one of the largest rivers in the Caucasus, and one of the most important rivers in Iran which besides attracting tourism and positive ecosystem effects, has important potential for fishing.

The river has become a source of pollution posing threats to people’s lives residing northwestern part of the country due to the flow of heavy metals out of the Armenian factories over the past decade.

An Iranian delegation led by Iraj Heshmati, the deputy head of Iran’s Department of Environment, traveled to Armenia to attend the 25th meeting of the representatives of the two countries, held in Yerevan on November 15 -16, to address the problem of Aras contamination, the Department of Environment reported.

Iran’s ambassador, Mehdi Sobhani, and Armenia’s head of the Department of Environment, Hakob Simidyan, were present in the meeting, as well.

The two countries announced their readiness for cooperation and technical consultation to completely stop the discharge of industrial wastewater into the river.

At the end of this meeting, a memorandum of understanding was signed by Heshmati and Gayane Gabrielyn, his Armenian counterpart.

Accordingly, the officials agreed to take action to resolve the issue of mineral and industrial pollution and completely stop the flow of pollution into Aras River within a year.

The two parties also agreed to conduct several joint investigations by three expert groups, including the joint expert group on mines, particularly copper and molybdenum, the joint expert group for monitoring the water quality of Aras River, and the joint monitoring and supervision expert group.

The expert groups’ meeting will be held each month virtually or in-person to present the results of their findings and technical solutions to the heads of the delegations of the two countries.

It was also decided that the first meeting of the heads of delegations of the two countries to be held in late February 2024 in Agarak and Jolfa with the presence of the heads of three expert groups to decide on future actions.

Heavy metals flowing into Aras River

In 2019, an agricultural researcher, Ahmad Baybordi, told IRNA that there were remnants of heavy metals in the river without a doubt.

Citing over a decade of Aras water pollution as a result of the wastewater inflow from Armenia, he said that the University of Medical Sciences asked me to conduct a water and sediment monitoring study at the Aras River.

The University of Tabriz and the Ministry of Agriculture research center at that time discovered the contamination of Aras River with heavy metals based on the analysis of monitoring carried out, he said.

He went on to lament that the Ardabil provincial water company had also conducted monitoring of water, soil, and aquatic species in the river, and the results showed that the river was contaminated with heavy metals.

Pointing out that conservatism is not allowed when it comes to public health, he added that Aras contamination is a scientific and environmental issue that must be scientifically investigated and declared.

We started a project with university students residing in a village on the outskirts of Aras to monitor water and sediment in the river, he noted, adding that the project was carried out in two areas before Nordoz (as pollution-free areas) and after Nordoz (as polluted areas) and the findings showed the heavy metal contamination.

Aluminum, copper, iron, and arsenic have been found in the river which were 10 times the safe limits, he regretted.

He further said that I have closely watched the activity of Armenian factories, adding “I would definitely say that the industrial effluent flows into Aras and the color of the water is turning green because of the high concentration of heavy metal.”

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The MOU was signed on the sidelines of the 12th meeting of ECO transport ministers which was held in the capital of Uzbekistan with the participation of Iran’s Deputy Transport Minister Shahriar Afandizadeh, IRIB reported.

The unification of tariffs on transportation procedures and border processes will be implemented within the framework of the mentioned MOU, according to which, a significant share of the transit volume from China to Europe can be carried out via Iran’s east-west transit route.

At the meeting, the ECO transport ministers also exchanged views on strengthening transport communications in the ECO region.

The need to finance infrastructural projects in the ECO region with the participation of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), completing the missing rail and road links and strengthening the regional corridors including Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul and Almaty-Tehran-Istanbul and also east-west corridors for connecting China to Europe as well as Caspian Sea routes were among the other issues discussed at the meeting.

Addressing the meeting, Afandizadeh expounded on the “Iran Road” transport initiative and emphasized that all countries in the region will be able to have safe and cheap access to other destinations via Iran using the initiative.

The 13th Meeting of Transport Ministers of the ECO will be held in Tehran in 2024.

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As reported, the MOU was signed by the TCCIMA Deputy Head Mehdi Sadeghi Niaraki and the head of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce in the presence of Governor of Tehran Province Alireza Fakhari, on the sidelines of the 4th Made in Russia International Export Forum and exhibition in Moscow.

According to Niaraki the MOU is aimed to develop cooperation in the field of information exchange, exchanging delegations, introducing capacities, and holding joint conferences and exhibitions.

A delegation of Iranian economic operators, headed by Fakhari traveled to Mosco to attend the Made in Russia Exhibition.

In a meeting between the board members of the Iran-Russia Joint Chamber of Commerce and Russian Ambassador to Tehran Alexey Dedov in Tehran in early July, the two sides explored ways of facilitating mutual business exchanges.

During the meeting which was held at the place of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA), the board members of the Iran-Russia Joint Chamber of Commerce called on the Russian side to ease the conditions for issuing business visas for Iranian traders and to make the process of issuing certificates of origin online.

Speaking at the meeting, Hadi Tizhoush-Taban, the head of the Iran-Russia joint chamber of commerce, emphasized using the capacity of the Iranian Trade Center in Astrakhan and referred to it as a suitable platform to establish communication between interested Iranian and Russian business units to cooperate with each other.

He underlined the need for facilitating the process of issuing visas for Iranian businessmen by the Russian government, saying: “It is necessary to provide conditions so that the businessmen and economic operators of both sides can benefit from the two countries’ trade capacities.”

Elsewhere in the gathering, Deputy Head of the Iran-Russia Chamber of Commerce Abdollah Mohajer pointed to the good political relations between the two countries and said: “Despite the strong political relations between the two countries, we have not been able to use the capacities in the economic sector and strengthen the level of relations in line with the political ties.”

He further informed about the interest in the northern provinces of Iran to increase the level of business relations with different cities of Russia and said: “Russian ambassador, as a representative of the government of this country, can take serious steps in order to improve business relations and joint investment.”

Dedov for his part talked about the efforts that are being made by the Russian government to remove the obstacles facing the commercial relations between the two countries and expressed hope that continuous meetings should be held to achieve this goal.

Also, in late May, the former Head of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Gholam-Hossein Shafeie called for the development of infrastructure along with the strengthening of the trade between Iran and Russia, the ICCIMA portal reported.

“Arrangements should be made for the development of the transportation and customs infrastructures in line with the development of the two countries’ trade ties,” Shafeie said in an Iran-Russia Specialized business forum held on the sidelines of the “Russia – Islamic World: Kazan Forum 2023” in Russia.

“The relations between Iran and the Russian Federation, especially in the commercial and economic fields, have a positive and growing perspective, and good developments are expected for the future of these relations,” Shafeie said.

Referring to the capacities of developing economic relations with Iran, the official emphasized: “Iran has great potentials like the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia, the gas reserves of Russia, and the mineral reserves of Australia, and this is a great blessing that can be the basis and justification for the development of relations with any country.”

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The MOUs were signed during the two countries’ first joint economic committee meeting which was held in Ouagadougou on Friday.

Work and social support, technical and vocational training, employment and entrepreneurship development, pharmaceuticals, energy and mining, environment and natural resources, as well as science, research, and technology were also among the areas covered in the MOUs.

The first meeting of the Iran-Burkina Faso Joint Economic Committee was attended by an Iranian delegation headed by Iranian Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Solat Mortazavi.

Speaking at the event, Mortazavi expressed hope that the signed documents would lead to an increase in the level of economic exchange between the two countries.

The official noted that the two sides plan to expand their cooperation in other areas as well.

During a meeting between Mehdi Zeyghami, the head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), and Issa Boro, the secretary general of the foreign ministry of Burkina Faso, in Tehran in late June, the Iranian side his country is willing to expand trade ties with Burkina Faso and export technical engineering services to the country.

In this meeting, the two sides emphasized the expansion of commercial relations in parallel with political ties and discussed the business plans that are to be presented in the upcoming Joint Economic Committee meeting of the two countries.

According to Zeyghami, the expansion of business relations is not possible without the businessmen of the two countries getting to know each other, and it is necessary to hold conferences on the business opportunities of Burkina Faso and Iran for the businessmen of the two countries to get familiar with the two countries’ markets.

Boro had earlier announced that the West African country is going to open an embassy in Tehran.

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The MOU has been signed by ISIPO Head Ali Rasoulian and the Chairman of the Board of BWA Michael Schumann, IRNA reported on Wednesday.

The MOU covers a variety of areas including technology exchange between Iranian and German companies, holding technology-based conferences, holding B2B meetings between Iranian and German companies, supplying machines needed by Iranian companies, holding industrial and commercial events with the participation of BWA in the countries of the region, holding educational workshops for Iranian companies including technical and professional courses for managers.

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The MOU was signed by Head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Alireza Peyman-Pak and Head of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) Muhammad Zubair Motiwala, the TPO portal reported.

Based on the MOU, which was signed on the sidelines of Iran’s Exclusive Exhibition in Karachi, the parties pledged to exchange business information, support each other’s private sectors, and provide the conditions and context for the presence of their trade delegations in the other country.

It was also agreed that both sides would take all the necessary measures to facilitate holding exhibitions in the opposite country, whenever required.

Speaking in the signing ceremony, Peyman-Pak said that signing this MOU was indicative of the two sides’ determination for removing the obstacles in the way of bilateral trade and prepare the ground for the businesspersons of both sides to bolster cooperation.

He considered the holding of exclusive exhibitions, exchanging trade delegations, and investment in joint production units as positive steps for knowing the capacities and needs of the two countries and expressed hope that such events would continue.

The TPO head further mentioned some obstacles and infrastructural problems that are hindering the two countries’ mutual trade, including lack of banking relations, problems related to sea transportation and logistics, and tariff-related issues, saying that the Iranian government is willing to resolve such problems in collaboration with the Pakistani government.

Motiwala, for his part, said that the signed MOU is regarded as a major step to enhance bilateral trade to reach the target of five billion dollars annually.

 “Made in Iran” exhibition opens in Karachi

The exclusive exhibition of Iranian products dubbed “Made in Iran” was opened in Karachi the capital of Sindh province in southern Pakistan, on Monday, aiming to showcase the capabilities of Iranian producers and to introduce Iran-made products to Pakistani consumers.

The exhibit was opened in a ceremony attended by senior officials from both sides including TPO Head Alireza Peyman-Pak, Consul General of Iran in Karachi Hassan Noorian, Governor of Sindh Kamran Tesori, and some other Iranian and Pakistani business officials.

The exhibit comes as the Islamic Republic of Iran has recently removed the ban on the imports of Pakistani products listed under the preferential trade agreement between the two countries.

Holding this exclusive exhibition is an effective step for increasing cooperation and coordination between the business people on both sides.

Mohammed Reza Barahoui, the director of Iran’s exclusive exhibition, said on the sidelines of the opening ceremony in an interview with an Iranian media outlet, that about 50 companies from different Iranian provinces operating in the fields of industrial and commercial services, including plastic and polymer materials, food industry, steel industry, copper, services, power plants, construction, turbines, textile machinery, and the construction industry are taking part in the three-day event.

The exhibition has been organized by TPO with the aim of increasing the trade balance between Iran and Pakistan, Barahoui said, adding, “The officials of the two countries are looking for establishing a constructive trade relationship and negotiations will be held on conducting transactions using a barter trade mechanism.”

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In the meeting with Ambassador of Oman to Tehran Sayyid Dr Ahmed bin Hilal bin Saud Al Busaidi, Secretary of the Council Hojjatollah Abdolmaleki emphasized accelerating the process for signing the MoU on cooperation between the free zones of the two countries.

He said that both sides have reached good agreements for broadening the joint free zones and they have progressed well, adding that he believes the trade relations of both countries can be more than the current amount and signing the mentioned MoU will have great impact on broadening trade and economic relations between Iran and Oman.

He then pointed to the amount of Iran’s exports to Oman in the past year which had been two times more than the preceding year, adding that cooperation between the free zones of the countries will be creating the ground for investment as well as it can increase exports and imports to and from Oman more than ever and it can create the ground for increasing occupation and investment in these zones.

He then pointed to creating bunkering infrastructures in Qeshm Free Trade Zone and noted that Iran is ready to create a joint company with Khasb Free Zone of Oman to offer services to the opposite side.

Abdolmaleki went on to say that financial turnover of bunkering industry in the Persian Gulf is over $20b per year and emphasized that some part of this turnover can be attracted in Oman and Iran.

He stated that Qeshm Free Zone is planning for offering bunkering services to different demanding countries and interested countries in this field, adding that by the way the priority of the country is to share interests with neighboring countries like Oman.

Then Ambassador of Oman expressed his country’s interest for the MoU cooperation between the free zones of both states.

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“As a result of international events, conferences and exhibitions organised with the participation of Roscosmos and enterprises of the rocket and space industry … Memorandums of cooperation in the field of launch services were signed with the Iranian companies SAHAB and SpaceOmid”, a Roscosmos statement said.

Last month, Roscosmos had said that a delegation from the Corporation was taking part in the 11th Iranian International Air Show, during which the delegation planned to hold a series of meetings with Iranian officials, as well as representatives of other “friendly countries”.

In August 2022, Roscosmos said that it launched Iran’s Khayyam satellite, named after the 11th Century Persian poet and philosopher, Omar Khayyam, into orbit from the Baikonur spaceport in southern Kazakhstan.

Roscosmos Director-General, Yury Borisov described the launch of the Iranian satellite as a milestone event in Russian-Iranian cooperation.

Meanwhile on Wednesday President Ebrahim Raisi hailed Iran’s achievements in the space industry, saying the rapid progress in the field has proved the failure of Western sanctions and plots to isolate the Islamic Republic.

Raeisi made the remarks in an address to the second meeting of the country’s Supreme Space Council in the capital Tehran.

Regarding the achievements made in the space industry, the president noted that Iran was one of the few countries that achieved the technology of launching spacecraft.

“Further progress by the country in the field of placing satellites into the Earth’s orbit would neutralize the enemies’ plots in the area of broadcasting anti-Iranian television and satellite channels,” he stated.

Iran launched its first satellite Omid (Hope) in 2009 and its Rasad (Observation) satellite was sent into orbit in 2011.

In 2012, Iran successfully put its third domestically-made satellite, Navid (Good News), into orbit.

In April 2020, the country announced the successful launch of its first military satellite into orbit. And in March 2022, it blasted its second military satellite into space.

The president also pointed to the enemy’s efforts to portray Iran’s space achievements as limited to military purposes. Raisi said the space industry is among the country’s assets and also among the propelling industries, whose advancement alongside other industries and sciences, would contribute to the enhancement of the country’s overall strength.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he added, “Space sciences and industries are, today, one of the world’s booming economic and commercial arenas,” expressing the necessity of “commercialization of this science and industry.”

Also during the meeting, Hassan Salarieh, Head of Iran’s Space Organization, announced the approval of the country’s strategic 10-Year Space Program by the Supreme Space Council.

In line with the program’s scope, the Islamic Republic plans to become the regional epicenter of development of space technologies, and provider of space launch services.

The Iranian program also aims to devise and implement space missions in line with its goal of helping civilian, business, and executive organizations benefit from the world’s state-of-the-art technologies.

Meanwhile on Thursday Advisor to Supreme Leader for International Affairs Ali Akbar Velayati in a meeting with former deputy Speaker of Russia’s State Duma Sergey Baburin termed the relations between Iran and Russia as very important.

“Relations between Iran and Russia are currently at the best level and developing,” said Velayati, adding that the relations between the two countries are very important.

Referring to the Ukrainian war, he called the US and NATO as the main causes of the spread of the conflict. “Today’s world is no longer unipolar, and it is very important for independent countries to be careful of their [U.S. and NATO] influence in the region.

Velayati also pointed to the South Caucasus region, saying, “As the Leader of the Islamic Revolution emphasized, the Islamic Republic of Iran does not accept any changes in the current borders and the security of the region must be preserved.”

Baburin, for his part, called the purpose of his visit to Iran to participate in the international meeting of the anniversary martyrdom of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.

He said that Soleimani was indeed a very important and influential figure. “He is known as a hero in Russia and Iran, and it is clear to the whole world that the United States committed this terrorist act, and the Americans, including Trump, have admitted this many times.”

Baburin emphasized the ineffectiveness of the US sanctions, saying that Russia can use Iran’s experience in the issue of neutralizing sanctions, and the cooperation between Iran, Russia, and Syria is a valuable basis for the multipolar world.

“The relations between Iran and Russia are friendly and close,” he said.

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