VDW: Iran-Germany industrial ties growing

Speaking to Trend News Agency, Wilfried Schafer, the executive director of the German Machine Tool Builders’ Association (VDW) further said, “Regional banks, in cooperation with the European-Iranian bank [Europäisch-Iranische Handelsbank AG] are supporting the companies exporting to Iran. So, this is going to develop continuously.”
He noted, “We are of course discussing continuously with the Ministry of Economics and the Export Control Administration of Germany to do their best to reduce the requirements and to support exports to Iran.”
Schafer further announced that an EMO Hannover metalworking exhibition will be held in Tehran from September 18 to 23.
On June 27, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said during a visit to Germany that his country favored deeper trade ties with the European economic power.
In a meeting with German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries, Zarif said that Iran would be a proper partner for the European country in the joint producing of goods for export.
Annual trade turnover between Iran and Germany stands at about $3 billion.
Germany used to be Iran’s number one economic partner before sanctions hit the Islamic Republic in the early 2010s. Germany was the first country to send a large economic delegation to Iran after the 2015 nuclear deal that paved the way for removing the sanctions.
In October 2016, German firms signed 10 business agreements with Iranian partners during the fifth session of Iran-Germany Economic Commission in Tehran.
German Mittelstand firms ranging from small- to medium-sized companies which form the backbone of its economy, signed deals with Iranian partners, including SMS group, a builder of steelmaking plants and INTRA industrial solutions, Reuters cited German Economy Ministry as saying.
Mitsubishi Germany signed a contract to modernize a gas-fired plant, while plant constructor Keller HCW wants to build a brickyard in Iran.
Both countries’ central banks have also agreed on a technical cooperation deal. There was no detail on the size of the agreed deals.
Industrial giant Siemens AG and automaker Daimler will be among the first German firms to benefit from opportunities in Iran, but they are proceeding cautiously and only after legal reviews.
The German banking sector has been reluctant to underwrite business deals for fear of falling foul with remaining US sanctions over non-nuclear issues.
Managing Director of Iran-Germany Chamber of Industry and Commerce Rene Harum said in October that trade between the two countries is expected to reach €5 billion in 2017 and €10 billion in the coming years.
Speaking at the first meeting of the joint chamber in Tehran, Harum said bilateral trade stood at €2.5 billion in 2015.
He said Germany is willing to become Iran’s top trading partner, replacing China whose trade with Iran topped $22 billion in the year to March 2016.