TEHRAN – Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) is organizing an online Iran-Europe business forum in collaboration with the European Union (EU) which is due to be held during December 14-16, an official with the organization announced.

According to Mirhadi Seyedi, the TPO deputy head for export market development, during this three-day event more than 60 Iranian and European officials will deliver speeches and companies from the two sides will hold online B2B meetings.

This investment conference will be run by the UN’s International Trade Center - an agency jointly managed by the United Nations and the World Trade Organization - and the TPO.

The main purpose of this event is to create a suitable environment for companies on both sides to engage in trade-economic interactions, Seyedi said.

“Creating the ground for new developments in this field can lead to the restoration of trade relations between the two sides and many opportunities will be provided for the development of our country's non-oil exports,” he added.

Facilitation of the imports of capital goods and intermediaries from Europe and paving the way for attracting foreign investment, diversification of export markets as well as establishing joint ventures were also mentioned among the goals of this event.

The Europe-Iran Business Forum, which is funded by the European Union, will be the first of its kind in two years, according to a statement by the organizers.

International conferences on Iran’s economy, trade, and banking sectors had surged following the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran, the U.S., European Union, Russia, and China, but they virtually disappeared after Trump pulled the U.S. out of the accord in 2018 and renewed sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to return the U.S. to the Iran accord, which was brokered by the Obama administration when he was vice president. He’s said that he wants Iran to return to full compliance with the deal in exchange for the U.S. doing the same and lifting sanctions.

The Milan-based European House-Ambrosetti is also supporting the event, which will be hosted on the company’s online conference platform, the statement said.

The trade between Iran and the EU nations has decreased in the current year due to the outbreak of the coronavirus and also as a result of the U.S. sanctions.

In late October, European Commission spokesperson for foreign affairs issues, Peter Stano, told the Tehran Times in an exclusive interview that the removal of sanctions is an “essential part” of the 2015 nuclear agreement.

He points to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell's remarks in a debate in the European Parliament on October 7 in which he said, "Iran had legitimate expectations that the ‘nuclear deal’ would result in more concrete economic benefits."

EF/MA