Governor General of Gilan Ruhollah Qahremani told the Fourth Specialized Meeting on Promoting Iran’s Non-Oil Export to Russia in Rasht on Thursday that Russia is an important and influential country in the region.
He further told the gathering, “We will try to create conditions for expanding exports and improving national and regional economic conditions by developing Gilan’s ports, expanding shipping fleet and rail transportation system, improving production and identifying the markets in Caspian Sea littoral states, particularly in Russia.“

Domestic producers must understand that once Iran becomes a WTO member, only producers who can manufacture high quality products at a competitive price will be successful.

He underscored the need to support and grant banking facilities to merchants and exporters, ISNA reported.
Head of Gilan’s Commerce Department, Reza Pakseresht, said at the same gathering that the most important targets of the government were to promulgate the culture of exports, develop national will for exports, facilitate foreign trade and enter the arena of international trade.
He added, “Gilan can also play a key role in promoting non-oil exports, which has always been among the strategic missions of various developmental plans.“
Meanwhile, deputy commerce minister and head of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran, Mehdi Ghazanfari, said on the sidelines of the event, “Banking facilities allocated for exports is not at all sufficient. Commerce Ministry experts have calculated that the share of banking facilities in exports is a meager 2 percent.“
He added, “In the new supportive package of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), the share of banking facilities in exports has been announced at 9 percent. We believe that this is still a low figure and bank officials should increase it. Today governments are obliged to rectify their structure to achieve development and they consider exports as a remedy for economic problems.“
Ghazanfari recalled that exports have been underlined as an effective parameter in economic advancement in development plans, notably in the third and fourth plans.
“Hence, given the importance of exports and to expedite development, all economic and executive entities are duty-bound to create the needed infrastructures and facilities to promote exports. Despite the problems, based on agreements between Commerce Ministry and banks, merchants and exporters can receive hard currency facilities from banks,“ he noted.
The official recalled that Iranian merchants and exporters should realize that they can do much better in trade with Central Asian states.
“They must try to exchange industrial and service goods with Central Asian states instead of agricultural products,“ he noted.
The deputy minister recalled that the ministry intends to adopt proper economic methods to prevent further hikes in inflation and control the pricing mechanism more effectively.
He underlined that the private sector should take charge of trade and not the government.
Ghazanfari underlined that Iran can join the World Trade Organization (WTO) only when negotiators representing Iran are powerful.
He warned that domestic producers must understand that once Iran becomes a WTO member, only producers who can manufacture high quality products at a competitive price will be successful.
Some 300 experts, merchants, producers and officials in charge of commercial activities plus several Russian officials attended the meeting.

Iran and Tunisia have signed an agreement on cooperation in the auto industry as well as production and export of spare parts, said head of Iran Khodro Investment Company Parviz Kazemi.
In a fax sent to Iran Daily, Kazemi, who returned from a visit to Tunisia at the head of a delegation, stated that the two sides also agreed to produce over one million light and heavy vehicles in the North African state.
Noting that Iran-made car ’Samand’ has been welcomed by many foreign countries, he hoped that the car could enter the Tunisian market in the near future.
Meanwhile, Iran Khodro opened its permanent showroom in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates, on Saturday. The aim of the move is to ensure a constant presence in the highly competitive UAE market by introducing and distributing Iranian made cars.

Over $109.6 million have been allocated to renovating and equipping airports nationwide, announced Managing Director of State Airports Company Asghar Ketabchi.
According to IRNA, of the figure, about $65.7 million will be allocated for development projects and renovation, while about $43.9 million will be spent on purchasing parts, he said on the sideline of a conference on ’Chabahar, Transit and Development of the Eastern Corridor’ in Tehran.
“The funds will be mostly utilized for Isfahan, Mashhad, Tabriz as well as Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airports.“
He further noted that 55 airport terminal projects underway throughout the country will gradually become operational.

Deputy oil minister and managing director of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) announced on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of oil production in Iran that the Oil Ministry will begin executive works on 100 projects throughout Khuzestan province.
According to IRNA reporter in Ahvaz, Seifollah Jashnsaz, who was speaking on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Iran’s oil industry in Masjed Soleiman, added that the projects would include road construction, sport complexes, service stations, development, health, cultural, educational and environmental projects.
He added, “As a token of the nation’s gratitude to the noble residents of Masjed Soleiman, where the Middle East’s first oil well was discovered, many of these projects will be implemented in this town.“
Concurrent with the occasion, Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari officially inaugurated a gas refinery in the country’s southwestern province of Khuzestan.

On May 24th, 1908, following some 18 months of drilling, the first drill head in the Naftoon region of Masjed Soleiman hit oil and Asmari oilfield, IranÕs first oil well, was born.

To mark the anniversary of the Liberation of Khorramshahr and to commemorate 100 years of Iran’s oil industry, Nozari ordered the launching of one of the most modern gas refinement plants in the world.
According to the managing director of the refinery, Noureddin Razaqi, the refinery was built at a cost of nearly $27 million and has a daily production capacity of one million cubic meters of natural gas, which can be increased by 40 percent. The output of the plant will be mainly used to meet the energy needs of Masjid Soleiman.
Also, Jashnsaz referred to the relocation of 5,000 residential houses from polluted areas, reconstruction and improvement of buildings of 28 schools and a number of sport stadiums, construction of academic, cultural, and sports complexes, building libraries, electricity networks, and parks, construction and improvement of two hospitals, as some projects already undertaken by the Oil Ministry and South Oil Rich Regions Oil Company in the Masjed Soleiman area.
He said that the budget allocated to these projects is 2,552 billion rials which was provided by the Oil Ministry.
Congratulating Iranian oil industry personnel on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of oil production since May 24, 1908 from Masjed Soleiman’s No. 1 Oil Well, he reiterated, “Ever since the discovery and production of oil in Iran, political, economic and social developments in our country have each been in a way interlinked with the oil industry.“
The deputy oil minister referred to efforts by the Iranian oil industry personnel, particularly during the tough era of eight-year Sacred Defense (1980-1988), noting, “Throughout the (Iran-Iraq) war, production, drilling and transfer of oil was not halted even for a single day and that is a great pride for the noble personnel of our country’s oil industry.“
Jashnsaz informed the audience, “Out of Iran’s potential 136 billion barrels of oil reserves, so far 65 billion barrels have been exploited and used, of which 25 percent of that huge task has been done in the past three decades, that is after the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.“
He said that the extensive effort of the oil industry personnel is proof for their being in harmony with the lofty ideals of the revolution, adding, “The country’s oil industry is interlinked with the Islamic Revolution.“
The official referred to sponsoring scientific and university conferences nationwide on oil industries as other programs to be held to mark the centenary of oil production.
On May 24th, 1908, following some 18 months of drilling, the first drill head in the Naftoon region of Masjed Soleiman hit oil of Asmari oilfield and Iran’s first oil well was born. That was also the Middle East’s first oil well, also known as Masjed Soleiman’s Number One Oil Well.

The 15th International Agricultural Trade Fair of Iran, known as Iran Agro 2008, opened on Sunday at Tehran International Fairgrounds and will continue until Wednesday.
According to ISNA, Iran Agro 2008, which will showcase agricultural machinery and equipment as well as livestock and poultry breeding, is considered the largest of its kind in the Middle East since its inception in 1994.
The event will feature the products of 413 domestic and 220 foreign producers from Spain, Slovenia, Austria, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Belgium, Thailand, Turkey, China, Japan, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Finland, Canada, South Korea, Poland, Hong Kong, the Netherlands and India.
Iran Agro 2007 was held at Tehran International Fairgrounds from May 22 to 25, 2007.
Some 78 exhibitors from 10 countries, namely, France, Germany, Spain, Syria, Canada, Greece, Iran, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Syria, and Turkey attended that event.

With the renovation and development of refineries and construction of new ones, Iran can become self-sufficient in gasoline within three years, director of National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) for refining affairs told Mehr News Agency.
“Currently development and renovation of refineries are underway at a cost of $7 billion and as scheduled about 34 million liters will be added to the country’s daily gasoline production capacity by 2012,“ Aminollah Eskandari explained.
While noting that currently an average of 65 million liters of gasoline is being consumed daily in Iran, he added.
“At present refineries produce 42 million liters of gasoline daily and with the implementation of development projects, gasoline production capacity will reach 76 million liters per day,“ he concluded.

Some 36 mining schemes will begin production by next February, the chairman of the Executive Board of Iranian Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) told Mehr News Agency.
Some $6.14 billion from state funds were allocated for the schemes, which were launched in the current Iranian year (started March 20) and their implementation is being supervised by IMIDRO, Ahmad-Ali Harati-Nik elaborated.
Once the schemes become operational, copper, steel, aluminum, and iron ore production will increase by 250,000 tons, 15.8 million tons, 505,000 tons and 25 million tons respectively, he added.
The schemes are scheduled to go into production by February 11 during the Ten-Day Dawn celebrations to mark the 30th anniversary of the victory of 1979 Islamic Revolution.