Iran seeks to rebuild economic ties with Europe

Source: CNTV.cn   2016-01-28 22:31:06

Rouhani's five-day visit to Italy and France is the first by an Iranian president in nearly 20 years. The country is seeking to rebuild its economic ties with the West.
Italy has already rolled out the red carpet for Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on his first trip abroad since a sanctions-ending nuclear deal took effect.
Deals worth about 17 billion euros, or more than 18 billion US dollars were signed in such sectors as energy, steel, infrastructure, shipbuilding and aviation.
"This is just the beginning of a journey. There are some sectors where we must work closer together," said Matteo Renzi, Italian prime minister.
Tehran is eager to secure foreign investment to help modernise its sanctions-shattered economy.
"In the current situation, Iran is the safest and most stable country in the entire region to do business with," Hassan Rouhani said.
The country is now estimated to have access to more than 100 billion US dollars unfrozen by the West, money to invest externally and internally.
"That is of course going to present a big opportunity for its neighbours. And it has the opportunity to fund the projects it would be interested in attracting," said Dr. Ahmet Kasim Han, political & economic scientist.
At a time of global economic downturn, European companies are scrambling to get back into the 400-billion US dollar Iranian economy, with the world's fourth largest oil reserves and a consumer market of 80 million people.
(Source: CNTV.cn)