Page 24 - IRANRptMar21

Iran-EU business forum attempts second online event
In July, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, following talks with Zarif, stressed that the last 20 years have been marked by significant changes in the international political and economic arena, as well as in terms of threats to the security of mankind.
According to the Russian foreign minister, it had become necessary to give the document a more modern look, which Lavrov and Zarif agreed to report to the presidents of Russia and Iran, hinting at a wholesale change in top-level relations.
The three-day Europe-Iran Business Forum organised by the European Union and International Trade Centre and supported by business groups in Iran was launched online on March 1 for three days as part of efforts to kick-start international trade, Tasnim News Agency reported.
The event had been postponed until March following a backlash by human rights groups earlier in 2020 following the execution of Iranian journalist Ruhollah Zam in December. The organisers, European Union and those taking part were roundly criticised by many online, forcing its move to a later date. Senior figures from the European Union and other international organisations as well as Iranian government officials delivered keynote speeches at the forum.
Nearly 3,400 people, including senior business figures and ambassadors of European countries in Iran, are participating in the online conference, Press TV reported.
5.3​ FDI
Iran FDI 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
FDI net inflows (BoP) (USD bn)
4.662 3.05 2.105 2.05 3.372 5.019 2.373 1.508
FDI net inflows (% of GDP)
0.778 0.653 0.487 0.533 0.807 1.127 0.523
FDI net outflows (% of GDP)
0.226 0.04 0.001 0.031 0.025 0.017 0.016
source: World Bank
‘Post Trump’ Iran will not be free for all foreign investors, oil minister warns
‘Post-Trump’ Iran will not be a free-for-all when it comes to foreign investment, the country’s oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has warned.
Foreign companies looking to re-enter the country would be required to work under conditions different to those they secured prior to leaving Iran after the re-introduction of heavy US sanctions against Tehran by US President Donald Trump from 2018, Tasnim news agency reported Zanganeh as saying on January 11. He spoke with hopes rising that US President-elect Joe Biden, set to take office on January 20, will find an arrangement with Tehran that allows him to lift the Trump sanctions.
Prior to the Trump sanctions crackdown, Iran made it easier for foreign companies—including French energy major Total and China’s China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)—to take control of foreign investment projects; however after the Trump sanctions caused foreign investors to flee the country, local companies found themselves alone, struggling to fill the vacuum.
“If foreign companies come [to Iran], we will cooperate with them, but it doesn’t
24​ IRAN Country Report March 2021 www.intellinews.com