TEHRAN- At the meeting of Samad Hassanzadeh, President of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA), with Paola Amadei, Ambassador of Italy in Tehran, while referring to the areas of trade cooperation between the two countries, discussions were held on the need to facilitate visa issuance for traders and businessmen and to hold joint trade events in various fields.

As reported by the Public Relations Department of the ICCIMA, the meeting, the two sides discussed the long-standing economic, political, and social relations between the two countries and examined ways to preserve and strengthen trade relations despite the restrictions caused by sanctions.

At the beginning, Samad Hassanzadeh, President of the Iran Chamber, referred to the activities of the Iran-Italy Joint Chamber chaired by Ahmad Pourfallah, which has been able to contribute significantly to the day-by-day development and expansion of relations between the two countries.

Continuing, referring to the restrictions caused by sanctions, he said: “Despite all restrictions, relations between the two countries have been maintained; however, due to the history of relations and the interest that exists for cooperation between the two countries, we must take steps to strengthen relations.”

The President of the Iran Chamber recalled: “Despite the sanctions conditions, Iran has been able to experience significant progress in most areas such as petrochemicals, new technologies, artificial intelligence, industrial machinery, refineries, etc.”

He also referred to the continuous relations of the Iran Chamber with Iran’s Embassy in Italy with the aim of strengthening relations between the economic actors of the two countries and planning in this field, and added: “It is necessary that, along the way, we see facilitation of visa issuance for traders of the two countries to allow greater movement of economic actors, and on the other hand, the presence of trade delegations from Italy is emphasized.”

The President of the Iran Chamber said: “Friendship with all countries and the development of trade, social, scientific, and other relations, with emphasis on observing all national values, is the program and priority of the Islamic Republic, and relying on this principle, the Iran Chamber also tries to develop the path of its trade relations with other countries.”

Hassanzadeh referred to the industry of producing various building materials in Iran as a large industry that has direct connections with Italy and considered it a good ground for developing relations between the two countries.

Looking at the existing statistics, he spoke of a significant number of ceramic and building stone production units that operate with Italian technology and even export their products to Italy.

The President of the Iran Chamber considered the Italian Embassy in Tehran’s efforts to resolve the challenges of economic enterprises active in connection with Italy as having a great positive effect on relations between the two countries, and in another part of his remarks referred to the various bodies of the Iran Chamber and added: “More than 34 provincial chambers are active across the country, and it is possible to use the capacity of these chambers to expand international trade interactions. Provincial chambers, in connection with economic actors in different cities, can be a factor in developing trade relations between Iran and Italy.”

Hassanzadeh invited the Italian Ambassador to Iran to visit various provinces of the country with the aim of becoming acquainted with different economic capacities.

----------------------------Italy as Iran’s first European trade partner

Ahmad Pourfallah, President of the Iran-Italy Joint Chamber of Commerce, introduced this chamber as one of the oldest active chambers in Europe and mentioned the active sister chamber of this chamber under the title Italy-Iran Joint Chamber.

He named Italy as Iran’s first European trade partner and referred to the transfer of knowledge and experience from Italy to Iran in the fields of tourism, ceramics and stone, mining, oil, and leather, etc., and emphasized: “We have always tried to maintain the systemic communications of the Joint Chamber with Italy by having an Italian economic actor among the board members of the Joint Chamber, and fortunately this tradition has been observed so far.”

According to Pourfallah, Iranian traders and people feel close to Italian traders and people, and both sides hope that with the removal of sanctions, we will again witness the strengthening of the level of relations.

The President of the Iran-Italy Joint Chamber of Commerce continued by praising the environment that has been created for Iranian students in Italy and added: “The awarding of Italy’s Knight’s Order to me by the President of that country is a sign of the level of relations between the two countries and is very valuable.”

----------------------------Invitation to Iranian companies to participate in specialized events in Italy

Paola Amadei, Ambassador of Italy in Tehran, spoke of the long history of relations between Iran and Italy, which has considerable depth and continuity from commercial and political as well as social and cultural perspectives.

She also drew attention to scientific and research cooperation and the exchange of knowledge between Iran and Italy and declared readiness for planning in the direction of strengthening relations.

According to her, the production of industrial machinery in Italy has always been one of the positive points, and extensive cooperation has been formed in this field between the two countries.

The Italian Ambassador in Tehran also referred to pharmaceutical products as an important dimension of relations between the two countries.

Amadei stated that targeted visits to various provinces form part of her work program. Also, some Iranian companies are in contact with the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) office in order to establish possible communication with Italian companies in Italy.

The Italian Ambassador in Tehran also said about visa issuance: “Follow-ups have been carried out and good measures have been taken; only when completing the relevant forms must individuals’ information be provided accurately.”

She also explained about the student visa situation: “The number of Iranian students in Italy has increased, and most of them are capable and intelligent individuals. Also, full scholarships have been considered by the Italian government that are not related to a university, and this year more than 100 people received this full scholarship and departed for Italy.”

Regarding trade relations between the two countries, the Italian Ambassador in Tehran referred to hundreds of years ago and the cooperation of Italian companies in the construction of railway projects in Iran and added: “Italian companies can pursue their relations with Iranian parties in areas not subject to sanctions.”

Noting that efforts have always been made to maintain the level of relations between the two countries by holding events, she emphasized: “The Italian Trade Agency office in Tehran takes steps to strengthen relations by providing the necessary information to traders and economic actors of the two countries.”

In conclusion, Amadei referred to the long-standing cooperation between Iran and Italy in the field of archaeology and said: “This interaction has existed for decades, and in this regard we try to witness the strengthening of relations through visits we plan to Iran’s ancient and historical areas.”

MA