Parallel to Austrian President Dr. Heinz Fischer's visit to Tehran from September 7 to 9, an Austrian economic delegation will visit Iran.
The delegation will be headed by Dr. Christoph Leitl, President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, and is expected to give a further boost to the already vibrant economic cooperation between the two countries.
The delegation includes companies from various economic fields, including environmental technology, renewable energy, machinery, foodstuff, pharma, tourism and etc.
Austria and Iran have had historically strong trade ties which date back to the 18th century. However, due to the sanctions, the Austrian-Iranian trade volume, which amounted to almost one billion euros a decade ago, has declined during the last years to little over 200 million euros.
Now, in the first quarter of 2015, Austrian exports saw a dramatic jump by over 60% which they expect to further rise following Iran- 5+1 deal in July 2015.
“Our bilateral trade volume is currently reflecting a fraction of what could actually be possible,” Commercial Counselor at the Austrian Embassy in Teheran Dr. Georg Weingartner underlined.
“It is quite realistic to assume that we will reach a trade volume of half a billion euros again within the next five years”.
Weingartner said that Austria has the world's leading companies in machinery, environmental technology and renewable energy – just to name a few fields.
Pointing to some projects completed in Tehran by Austrian companies, Weingartner said, “Companies have designed and built the main wastewater treatment plant and Niayesh tunnel in Teheran; Austrian consumer products are present in the everyday life of many Iranians – ranging from Energy Drinks to crystal jewelry; leading Iranian industrial facilities use Austrian machinery and Austrian pharmaceutical and medical technology products are widely used in Iranian hospitals.”
Highlighting that there are vast opportunities for future cooperation between Austria and Iran, Dr. Weingartner said Austrian companies are not interested in pure sales business.
“Iran is a huge market by itself. We are well aware that the country is also a gateway for the entire region. With its strong industrial base and well skilled workforce, Iran offers itself as a natural production hub. Our companies want to build long-lasting and strong relationships with Iranian partners to work together in the region.”
Dr. Weingartner also pointed out the vast possibilities of future Research & Development Cooperation.
“The cooperation of Austrian and Iranian research institutes and research driven companies will be definitely a major focus of our work within the upcoming years. As Iran has a small yet highly innovative Start Up scene, I see also a huge potential in the cooperation of Austrian and Iranian New Economy businesses. I hope we will hear from some Iranian Start Up companies also in Europe in the near future," Weingartner concluded.
LR