“Cooperation with foreign industrial and trade firms will not only be economically beneficial, but it will also help reduce political differences. This hold true for the US and other countries including our neighboring countries,” said the ministry’s deputy for commerce and international affairs, Amir-Hossein Zamani-Nia.
A follow-up conference is schedules to be held in London on February 22-24, officials said.
“The nuclear deal is expected to be put into full implementation in two months. Then, domestic and international firms can finalize their contracts,” he added.
“Considering the opportunities for investment in Iran’s oil industry, companies from Austria, Italy, Germany, France, Spain and UK have started negotiations with Iran,” he said, “One of the conditions laid in the new contracts is assignment of an Iranian company as the partner of the foreign firm.”
Zamani-Nia referred to the interest of major international oil and gas companies which participated in the international Oil and Energy Conference held last week in Tehran and said, “However, they are still prevented by the US Treasury Department from working in Iran.”
Last month, Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Rokneddin Javadi said, “There is still no clear picture about US firm’s participation, but the chance cannot be ruled out.”
“The government has laid no limitation for their participation, and cooperation with the US firms will be possible within the Iran Petroleum Contracts,” he added.
The Tehran event is expected to be embraced by foreign firms longing for participation in Iran’s oil industry in the post-sanction era.
The new contracts called Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC) will be more attractive, Petroleum Minister Bijan Zangeneh said earlier.
He said Iran welcomes foreign investment in its energy industry, but stresses technology transfer by foreign partners.
“More than cash or using the technology, we would like to have their advanced technology to be transferred to domestic companies,” he stressed.
In the wake of nuclear deal on July 24, Iran has been receiving high-ranking officials and corporate executives of major companies from Germany, Spain, Austria, Italy, and France to discuss new cooperation ventures.
President Hassan Rouhani has also urged US companies to invest in Iran saying the country’s enormous energy reservoirs and its geopolitical location at the crossroads of China, Central Asia, and the Oman Sea as well as the level of security and stability in the region have provided unique conditions for trade with the Islamic Republic.
Rouhani who was in New York in September to attend the United Nations General Assembly and the UN Sustained Development Summit, in a meeting with US corporate representatives said Iran has not banned US companies from doing trade in Iran.
US firms in a competitive setting can use the post-sanction conditions and invest and transfer technology to Iran, the president said.
Prior to his departure to the UN, President Rouhani said investors from US private firms can be active in Iran’s economy adding joint ventures and exchange of technology between Iranian and US private sectors can stabilize the nuclear deal.
“Iran’s economic atmosphere is open for Americans and Europeans to come here and to have economic activities together. Americans, too, can come to Iran for investment and exchange of technology,” he told CBS’ 60 Minutes program.
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