TEHRAN – Avenues for cooperation in the energy sector were discussed on Thursday in a meeting between Iran’s Ambassador to Tripoli Jaber Ansari and the chief executive officer of Libya’s National Oil Company Shokri Ghanem.

Pointing to the similarities in oil policymaking by the Iranian and Libyan governments, Ghanem assured Ansari about his country’s support for Iran to chair the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Iran and Libya are members of OPEC along with Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Venezuela, Kuwait, Iraq, Nigeria, Qatar, Indonesia, and the UAE.

Iran accounts for 43% of world’s carpet trade: NCCI chief

TEHRAN – Iran accounts for 43% of the global carpet trade, according to the director of the National Carpet Center of Iran Morteza Faraji.

“In the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2006), we exported some $500 million of Persian carpets to Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and the U.S.,” he added. He pointed to the heavy weight of Iranian carpets and lack of knowledge about the modern carpet designs as two major problems that make these carpets look unfashionable in the international markets. The NCCI has thus planned to introduce an associate degree in carpet designing, Faraji noted.

ME’s largest mineral water plant comes on stream in Shahr-e Kord

SHAHR-E KORD, Charmahal-o Bakhtiari Prov. – Cheshmeh-Saran, the Middle East’s largest mineral water bottling plant came into line on Thursday in this western Iranian city.

The first two phases of the project, which has cost €455m, are projected to create 700 jobs. The plant will process and bottle a purified type of mineral water that will be useful in preventing diseases while preserving its high quality in different circumstances. The plant will export 70% of its mineral water to the neighboring countries, mostly to the Arab states of the Persian Gulf littoral states. Annual mineral water consumption in Iran is estimated to increase from 3 million bottles to 10 million bottles in the next Iranian year (starts March 21, 2007).

Kerman Khodro, Skoda to continue talks on JV cooperation

TEHRAN – Iran’s Kerman Khodro and the Czech automaker Skoda are to hold further talks over establishing a joint venture to manufacture and assemble Skoda sedans in Iran, ISNA reported Friday.

The news agency added that the two sides have agreed on the main terms of their cooperation and the joint venture will start with production of Skoda Octavia as soon as a contract is signed. However, the Skoda cars that will be made in Iran should be changed so that they will be capable of running on the type of fuel that is sold at the Iranian gas stations. Skoda had nearly agreed to invest in Iran’s automotive industry last year, but gave up due to what it called the high rate of investment risk here.

Handicraft export through Isfahan down 13%

ISFAHAN – Isfahan Customs reported 13% decrease in export of handicraft in the past three months of the current Iranian year (March 21-June 21).

Some 137 tons of handicrafts, valued at $34.3 million, was exported through Isfahan in the said period. Persian carpets comprised $2.69 million of the export. The Customs exported more than 67,000 tons of non-oil commodities at $65.2 million, which showed 20% increase in terms of value compared to the corresponding period last year.