During his visit to the 18th Exhibition on Water and Wastewater, Yun expressed hope the cooperation between Iran and South Korea in the water industry and related technology would be reinforced, adding that today no country is immune regarding water shortage or tension, and in some countries the problem emerges as water shortage and draught and in some other countries it happens in the form of floods and overflow of rivers.

He pointed to the problems related to the water shortage in South Korea, stressing that in this problem Iran in comparison to other countries has faced lower problems, noting that water resources management in South Korea is done with more care.

Yun went on to say that the issue of water resources is a vast issue and it includes from management of natural precipitation like water and snow to wastewater and surface waters, water desalination, wastewater treatment systems and electricity production.

He added that many fields are under impact of water resources management, adding that accordingly, Iran and South Korea have capacities and vast fields for creating cooperation in the water resources management.

Yun then pointed to the resources management consumption in South Korea and added that the issue of water resources management is very important and it needs whopping investment in this field for creating required infrastructures and this multiplies the importance of interference in the water resources management by the governments.

He said that he visited the exhibition to get more information in the field of water resources management and the related technologies and emphasized that considering the current condition in the field of water in the world even one drop of water should not be wasted.

Yun emphasized using modern technologies for water resources management and notified that conventional technologies have lost their efficiency to much extent and for this reason South Korea enjoys capabilities of the knowledge-based companies for the water resources management and these centers are concentrated on new technologies and there are huge capacities for cooperation between Ira and South Korea in this field.

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South Korea’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong Kun, who was in the Austrian capital Vienna, held talks with Iran’s chief negotiator at noon on Thursday.

At the meeting, which was held at the request of the Korean side and at the office of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s mission in Vienna, the Deputy Foreign Minister of South Korea referred to the importance of Seoul-Tehran relations and offered some explanations about Iranian blocked money in South Korea, adding that his country is trying to pay its debt to Iran, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.

The Iranian deputy foreign minister stressed that regardless of the outcome of the talks in Vienna, the South Korean government is obliged to release the blocked Iranian money and that unilateral U.S. sanctions cannot justify non-payment of debts to Iran.

It was also clarified at the meeting that South Korea’s illegal and unjustifiable refusal to repay its debts to Iran would be a dark point in the history of relations between the two countries and that Seoul must act as soon as possible to release Iran’s resources.

It should be noted that the meeting was not directly related to the ongoing negotiations between Iran and the P4+1 group and was conducted within the framework of routine bilateral consultations between the two countries at the request of the Korean side.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Twitter that the Vienna talks are proceeding in the right direction. “Talks in Vienna are proceeding in the right direction. Iran’s initiatives brought the talks back on track in a constructive atmosphere,” he said, adding, “It is now up to the Western side to show good faith and commitment for a good deal.”

While recent rounds of talks focused on crafting a document setting out the principles for result-oriented negotiations, the current round is expected to get down to brass tacks.

There are two main issues on the table in Vienna: First, how U.S. sanctions on Iran should be lifted. In other words, how Iran can verify the lifting of U.S. sanctions. On this issue, it seems there is a sort of consensus that the U.S., as the first party to renege on its commitments under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, should take the first meaningful step.

Second, the nuclear measures Iran needs to take if the nuclear deal is to be revived. Iran has constructively engaged on this issue over the course of talks. In addition, there are major points of contention within these issues. One issue is the advanced centrifuges Iran installed after the U.S. withdrew from the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in May 2018. The Europeans have demanded the centrifuges be destroyed, something that Iran has rejected.

The post Iran diplomat meets South Korean counterpart, says Seoul obliged to release assets appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The order was issued after Ayatollha Khamenei issued a notice to Raeisi warning that a potential return foreign brands of home appliances, including two of two South Korean companies, to the Iranian market would be a huge blow to local manufacturers and their expansion projects.

The Leader intervened in the case after local brands of home appliances wrote to him to ask for help, according to a letter by his office addressed to the Iranian Presidency.

Local manufacturers of home appliances have reported continued increase in their output as they have been struggling to fill a gap created by the departure of foreign companies from Iran after the US sanctions were imposed.

South Korea’s Samsung and LG were among the first such firms that decided to leave the Iranian market three years ago to comply with US sanctions.

The ban imposed on Thursday would not cover parts used to manufacture home appliances inside Iran.

Meanwhile on Thursday, Iran’s foreign minister urged that South Korea provide the Islamic Republic with “quick access” to the funds that it has been withholding from the country under the banner of abiding by US sanctions.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks to his Korean counterpart Chung Eui-yong during a telephone conversation on Thursday.

Amir-Abdollahian expressed “strong criticism” of the continued freezing of the Iranian funds at South Korea’s banks.

Iranian authorities have said on several occasions that they expect South Korea to do more on the release of nearly $8.5 billion blocked illegally at two South Korean banks under the pretext of the United States’ sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The top Iranian diplomat urged that the money be released so the Islamic Republic could use it towards buying medicine and other commodities.

It had been previously agreed for the funds to be used by Iran towards the purchase of humanitarian items, something that has again been prevented as a result of Korea’s commitment to honor the sanctions.

Tehran has been returning Seoul’s refusal towards cooperation by exercising restrictions on imports from South Korea.

“The Iranian people are seriously displeased with the situation” that has been brought about as a result of cessation of trade activities between the countries—on the back of the American economic measures—and prevention of application of the funds even towards purchase of humanitarian items, Amir-Abdollahian told the Korean official.

Chung, for his part, said that he was pursuing the issue of Iran’s access to the frozen funds.

He, meanwhile, expressed concern regarding the actions that the Islamic Republic has been taking concerning the Korean imports.

The post Imports of Home Appliances Banned; Seoul Urged to Unfreeze Assets appeared first on Iran News Daily.

In the meeting, Shafei criticized the South Korea’s government for its obeying the U.S. sanctions against Iran, saying that unfortunately approach in Iran has become negative towards Seoul and the ties between the two states have been affected.

He then pointed to the old trade cooperation between Iran and South Korea as its sign and trace is completely visible in Iran’s different active industries and called the negative impacts of observing U.S. sanctions by Seoul wonderful. He reiterated that unfortunately the performance of Seoul in following the U.S. sanctions led to the negative view of Iranians towards South Korea.

Shafei then pointed to freezing of considerable amount of Iran’s resources in South Korea, saying that this has happened in a condition that the trade of medicines and foods were not sanctioned but South Korea has denied cooperating with Iran while Iran could easily provide its medicines from Japan which had closer ties with the U.S. than South Korea.

Shafei then said the trade volume between Iran and South Korea has slumped to $2b from $17b and it is a great economic loss for both sides and added that due to South Korea’s approach during the sanctions era, Iranian economic activists sought replacement for South Korea and this will undoubtedly affect the future activities between the two countries.

He also called for resolving the problem of Iranian companies which have signed with their Korean counterparts and even they have pre-paid but have not received their goods yet.

Shafei added that in order to soften the condition, South Korea should find ways for compensation in order to boost its trade with Iran.

Then the South Korean ambassador, for his part, said that his country seeks to revive trade relations with Iran, adding that Iran’s dissatisfaction with South Korea’s stance on U.S. sanctions is sensible.

Yun pointed to a previous meeting he had held with the former Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, saying that the then Iranian president had expressed his frustration with the South Korean stance on the U.S. sanctions against Iran.

He added that he came to meet with the head of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce in an effort to revive bilateral relations between Tehran and Seoul.

He said that the U.S. sanctions against Iran harmed both the Iranian nation in the first place as well as the Korean economy to a lesser extent.

He put the amount of frozen Iranian assets in South Korea at $7 billion, saying that his country is interested in paying back the blocked financial resources to Iran in necessary ways.

“South Korea is looking for a new future, and in this regard, I promise to do my best to develop economic relations between the two countries,” the diplomat added.

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Deputy Head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) for International Affairs Mohammad-Reza Karbasi says Iran’s market is not like two years ago and if South Korea is eager to resume cooperation with Iran, it should change its approach to Iran’s market.

Iran’s newly appointed commercial counsellor to South Korea Mr. Nikbakht met on Tuesday with Karbasi to review economic potentials of Iran for resumption of trade with South Korea. In the meeting, Karbasi pointed to the positive view of Iran to South Korea for years and criticized weak performance of Seoul in the past two years and highlighted dissatisfaction and regret of the government and economic activists of the private sector.

He went on to say that the trend of cooperation between Tehran and Seoul has always been positive and in some of the years the bilateral trade volume reached 16 to 17 billion dollars. Karbasi added that recent evaluation and conducted polls have shown that in the home appliances sector, producers and consumers have lost their interests to the Korean goods which has been due to the inappropriate behavior of Koreans regarding Iran’s consumption market which officially has pushed the market to boycott South Korean goods by Iranian consumers while we have not asked for any credit for imports and exports and eve not for special support and favor.

In the meeting the issue of Iran’s frozen assets in South Korea was raised and Karbasi pointed to Iran’s exports to South Korea whose money has not been repatriated to the country and been blocked in South Korean banks and South Korean banks have violated their obligations.

He referred to the in vain efforts of efforts for release of Iran assets and urged the government to resolve the issue through talks with their South Korean counterparts.

Karbasi noted that Iranian companies due to suffering losses and pressures are not unhappy and disappointed and are not ready to cooperate with South Korea any longer, adding that while some other Asian countries which are more economically dependent on the U.S. and Western states have always tried to continue trade and boost imports and exports with Iran in the toughest time.

He further said that despite considerable trade relation between both states and Iran’s consuming market for home appliances, luxurious goods, cars and parts, the South Korean government has not been ready to help Iran to release its assets.

Karbasi added that with election of Joe Biden and in the post-Coronavirus era it is possible the economic ties resume and economic activists will try to expand their cooperation with those countries and governments which have sided with them in the hard times. He said that during the sanctions era, major parts of productions especially in the home appliances has improved and they compete with the world standards and today some important Iranian brands have rep[laced South Korean brands and this achievement is most welcomed because before this happens, Iran was only consumer of these commodities but today it is itself producer and it boosts job creation and rise of incomes. He claimed now Iran is among the top tem countries in hoe appliances production.

He added that Iran’s market is not like two years ago and if South Koreans are eager to resume trade ties with Iran they should change their approach because they will not any longer be able to flood their goods into our consuming market and they should cooperate in form of the joint cooperation and through the transfer of technology, knowhow and production in Iran for domestic production or export to the countries in the region.

Karbasi said that he has recently heard good news about Iran’s frozen assets in South Korea saying that South Korean have announced readiness to pay their debts in the form of providing Iran with its needed goods like foodstuff and medicines.

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Head of Health Economy Committee of Tehran Chamber of Commerce says South Korea cannot meet Iran’s medicine demand through Iran’s frozen money in South Korean banks.

Mr. Mahmoud Najafi Arab says South Korea only provides some part of Iran’s medicines and other parts are provided through some European states and some small part through India.

Iran’s blocked money in South Korea is estimated to be between 6.5 to 9 billion dollars that Iran has been unable to unblock it in the past one year and a half and South Korean government has not even been ready to return at least $50m of the amount for provision of food and medicine because of the Coronavirus pandemic. So in such a condition, the issue of importing goods and especially health goods has been raised.

But Najafi Arab says this issue is impossible to happen because he has not so far heard any news about getting health goods instead of blocked money, adding that receiving medicines and health goods instead of blocked money from other countries has not happened yet.

He further said Iran is just importing a small part of its medicine needs from South Korea and provision of all its medicine demands from South Korea is impossible.

Najafi Arab added that Iran’s imports of medicine is in two forms of medicine and raw materials for medicine that raw materials are mostly imported from India and china and small part from South Korea.

He said in case Iran cannot get its money from countries because of sanctions, it can get its necessary goods from them instead of its money and if these commodities are among the basic goods, it can be a major step.

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Iran is escalating its pressure on South Korea to release billions of dollars of oil-export revenue, arguing that Seoul is buckling to pressure from its U.S. ally and illegally withholding funds needed to counter the Middle East’s worst coronavirus outbreak.

Abdolnaser Hemmati, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, said the actions of banks in South Korea were preventing Iran from using the money to buy foods and medicines, trade that’s exempt from U.S. sanctions.

“It is appalling to see that Korean banks have conveniently neglected their obligations, common international financial agreements, and decided to play politics and follow illegal and unilateral U.S. sanctions,” Hemmati said in a written response to questions. Iran could launch legal action to gain access to the funds, he said, without naming the lenders in question.

Hemmati also didn’t elaborate on the course of action that Iran may take. After sanctions were lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran the following year managed to unlock over $6.4 billion of oil payments trapped in Indian accounts, using European banks as a clearing agent. The central bank has also filed lawsuits in Europe against financial companies that have withheld its money on the basis of court orders issued in the U.S.

Hemmati declined to say whether he had received an update from the IMF on the loan application. He said Iran is “weathering” the impact of the virus and even expects to see “moderate” economic growth by the end of the year.

Returning to South Korea, he said the two countries have been working on a special trade vehicle, similar to that established with the European Union, which would allow Iran to complete humanitarian transactions using the money locked in Korean banks.

The U.S., which abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal two years ago, has sought to “stonewall” the plan, according to Hemmati. President Donald Trump’s so-called “maximum pressure” strategy against Iran aims to force its leaders into renegotiating the nuclear accord and ending their support for Hezbollah and Iraqi militias.

The EU mechanism — known as Instex — provides European companies with a trading vehicle to sell goods and services to Iran without using dollars, routing transactions through U.S. banks, or moving money across the Iranian border. But its impact has been limited due to companies’ fears over the reach of American penalties.

“Should Korean banks not adhere to their international agreements with us, we reserve our rights to take legal actions under international laws,” Hemmati said.

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The rare exchange of gunfire comes following the reappearance a day earlier of North Korea leader Kim Jong Un after a nearly three-week absence from the public eye that triggered intense speculation about his health.

A South Korean guard post was hit by several shots from the North, the joint chiefs of staff (JCS) said in a statement, adding no casualties were reported on the South’s side.

“Our military responded with two rounds of gunfire and a warning announcement according to our manual,” Seoul said, AFP reported.

The JCS added it was communicating with the North via their military hotline to determine the cause of the incident.

The two Koreas remain technically at war after the Korean War ended with an armistice in 1953, and despite its name, the Demilitarized Zone is one of the most fortified places on earth, replete with minefields and barbed-wire fences.

Easing military tensions on their border was one of the agreements reached between Kim and the South’s President Moon Jae-in at a summit in Pyongyang in September 2018.

But most of the deals have not been acted on by the North Korea, with Pyongyang largely cutting off contact with Seoul.

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