Last week’s visit by three German deputies to Iran, which included a meeting with the German-Iranian chamber of commerce, cast a light on Germany’s unbreakable trade relationship with Tehran.
Flourishing bilateral trade relations between Germany and the Islamic Republic have been a source of frustration and anger at times for Israel, Britain, France, and the U.S. to impose tough EU economic sanctions.
Bundestag lawmakers refuse to pass unilateral economic sanctions modeled on U.S. legislation to ratchet up the pressure on Iran.
A comprehensive statistical account of German-Iranian trade from the Federal Republic’s office of statistics in Wiesbaden viewed by the Post on Friday, covering 1950 to 2011, depicts a booming trade relationship with Ahmadinejad’s government.
Dr. Wahied Wahdat-Hagh, a Fellow at the European Foundation for Democracy, analyzed the numbers and told the Post that “the numbers are better for Ahmadinejad than during the period of the Shah [Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who ruled Iran from 1941 to 1979].”
In 1975, German exports had already totaled 2.64billion euros.
Wahdat-Hagh noted that in 1977 Germany had exported roughly 3.24 billion euros worth of goods to Iran and in 1978 about 3.46 billion euros worth.
According to the data, in 2005, the first year of Ahmadinejad’s presidency, German exports to Iran amounted to 4.37 billion euros. The second year, 2006, saw 4.15 billion
In 2007, exports reached 3.6 billion euros and in 2008 the volume of exports climbed to 3.9 billion euros.
Both 2009 and 2010 saw exports hit 3.78 billion euros each year.
By 2011, German exports resulted in 3.08 billion euros worth of revenue for German companies.
Wahdat-Hagh said despite the sanctions – and a decrease over the years – Germany’s exports were booming.
PA/PA
END
MNA
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