President Rouhani has said that, as part of his Government’s effort to revive Iran’s economy, he will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this week.
Rouhani will address the Forum on Thursday.
Reports indicate that European companies are looking to re-enter the Iranian market after years of restrictions; however, they say that success depends on the implementation of a nuclear deal and the lifting of US-led sanctions.
French auto makers Renault and Peugeot attended a conference in Iran last November, and Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh spoke in December with senior executives of Royal Dutch Shell, Italy’s ENI, Austria’s OMV, and Vitol, the world’s largest oil trader.
Tehran says it also would like investment in its energy sector from France’s Total, Norway’s Statoil, and US majors Exxon Mobil and Conoco Phillips.
In a small sign of advance, Belgian chemical firm Tessenderlo is shipping fertilizer to Iran in the coming weeks, the first potash shipment in two years.
While there is no sanctions ban on fertilizer, the trade had been limited by blocks on Iran’s financial sector.
Under the interim nuclear agreement being implemented from Monday, sanctions on Iran’s petrochemical and automobile industries will be lifted, as will a ban on trade of gold and precious metals. The 5+1 Powers (US, Britain, Germany, France, China, and Russia) will also begin unfreezing $4.2 billion in Iranian assets.
However, restrictions on financial transactions as well as Iran’s oil exports remain in place.
