A Belgian company recently supplied the new galvanization and painting line for Mobarakeh steel industry.

Belgium’s ambassador to Tehran has underlined the expansion of longÐterm economic ties with Iran expressing that future relations are promising.
In a meeting with head of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Mines (ICCIM) Mohammad Nahavandian, HervŽ Goyens stipulated that there are no limits for expanding ties between Iran and Belgium.
Nahavandian stated that new steps should be taken in Iran’s relations with European countries. “It has been proved that it is wrong to mix political and economic affairs and I hope that new opportunities will be created for strengthening ties,“ he added.
He stated that Iran is currently in a phase of transferring all affairs to the private sector and the Europeans should take this opportunity more seriously since such prospects might not be available in the future.
Nahavandian also referred to the energy crisis and the importance of energy in the future.
He said, “The world needs energy resources of the Middle East, therefore, the culture and rights of the people of this region should be respected.“
HervŽ Goyens, for his part, pointed out that Belgium is the world’s ninth exporter and importer. “Investment in Belgium is very high. Last year approximately $400 billion was invested in the country,“ he said.
Both sides emphasized that long-standing Tehran-Brussels relations would pave the way for increased cooperation between the two countries, while describing Iran and Belgium’s 100-year-old cordial ties as important, ISNA wrote.
Annual trade exchanges between the two countries are estimated at 350 million euros. The figure does not include Iranian oil exports to Belgium.
Belgium ranks seventh among countries exporting to Iran, while the Islamic Republic is the second biggest oil and gas supplier to Belgium.
There is growing interest among Belgian business community to invest in Iran. Iranian officials have met many contractors and industrial groups who would like to invest in Iran.
Belgian firms mostly export industrial machinery and chemical products to Iran.
A Belgian company recently supplied the new galvanization and painting line for Mobarakeh steel industry. Belgium also imports carpets, plastics and petrochemicals from Iran. However, they export eight to nine times more than what they import from Iran.
Iran imports about 41 million euros worth of goods from the Wallonia region of Belgium alone.
The first joint ventures between Iran and Belgium were the establishment of a sugar company, launch of the first railway line between Tehran and Shahre Rey and modernization of the organizational structure of the Customs Department, Finance Administration and Postal Service.
The Joint Iran-Belgium Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines enjoys co-operation from Belgium’s Embassy in Iran, Iran’s Embassy in Belgium, Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines, Iranian Committee of the International Commerce Chamber, Union of Belgian Chambers of Commerce Abroad, Industrial, commercial and economic unions, syndicates and associations of the two countries and the Export Promotion Center of Iran.

Belgium’s ambassador to Tehran has underlined the expansion of longÐterm economic ties with Iran expressing that future relations are promising.
In a meeting with head of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Mines (ICCIM) Mohammad Nahavandian, HervŽ Goyens stipulated that there are no limits for expanding ties between Iran and Belgium.
Nahavandian stated that new steps should be taken in Iran’s relations with European countries. “It has been proved that it is wrong to mix political and economic affairs and I hope that new opportunities will be created for strengthening ties,“ he added.
He stated that Iran is currently in a phase of transferring all affairs to the private sector and the Europeans should take this opportunity more seriously since such prospects might not be available in the future.
Nahavandian also referred to the energy crisis and the importance of energy in the future.
He said, “The world needs energy resources of the Middle East, therefore, the culture and rights of the people of this region should be respected.“
HervŽ Goyens, for his part, pointed out that Belgium is the world’s ninth exporter and importer. “Investment in Belgium is very high. Last year approximately $400 billion was invested in the country,“ he said.
Both sides emphasized that long-standing Tehran-Brussels relations would pave the way for increased cooperation between the two countries, while describing Iran and Belgium’s 100-year-old cordial ties as important, ISNA wrote.
Annual trade exchanges between the two countries are estimated at 350 million euros. The figure does not include Iranian oil exports to Belgium.
Belgium ranks seventh among countries exporting to Iran, while the Islamic Republic is the second biggest oil and gas supplier to Belgium.
There is growing interest among Belgian business community to invest in Iran. Iranian officials have met many contractors and industrial groups who would like to invest in Iran.
Belgian firms mostly export industrial machinery and chemical products to Iran.
A Belgian company recently supplied the new galvanization and painting line for Mobarakeh steel industry. Belgium also imports carpets, plastics and petrochemicals from Iran. However, they export eight to nine times more than what they import from Iran.
Iran imports about 41 million euros worth of goods from the Wallonia region of Belgium alone.
The first joint ventures between Iran and Belgium were the establishment of a sugar company, launch of the first railway line between Tehran and Shahre Rey and modernization of the organizational structure of the Customs Department, Finance Administration and Postal Service.
The Joint Iran-Belgium Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines enjoys co-operation from Belgium’s Embassy in Iran, Iran’s Embassy in Belgium, Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines, Iranian Committee of the International Commerce Chamber, Union of Belgian Chambers of Commerce Abroad, Industrial, commercial and economic unions, syndicates and associations of the two countries and the Export Promotion Center of Iran.

President Ahmadinejad’s economic plan has envisaged the allocation of cash subsidies for the first seven deciles in low-income groups, said Labor and Social Affairs Minister Mohammad Jahromi.
He told IRNA that the based on the plan, subsidies would be paid to both producers and consumers.
The minister said that paying subsidies in form of cash would help the government empower people.
Jahromi noted that the government’s economic reform plan has focused on fundamental economic issues including productivity, banking, monetary policies and subsidies in a bid to support investments.
Implementation of the plan may create short-term problems for producers, he noted. “Related working groups are holding meetings to help regulate production and consumption patterns and provide the necessary incentives for producers.“
Last month President Ahmadinejad revealed his long-awaited economic reform plan which calls for eliminating subsidies and handing out funds directly to low-income groups in addition to reforming the customs, tax and insurance systems.

Over time, supplying gas markets may become as big a challenge as supplying oil markets and removing Iran from export markets will accelerate this problem.Ó

Iran’s Oil Ministry has played down the pullout of Total of France, which this week pulled back from investing in the country’s huge South Pars gas field.
The consequences of Total’s decision have been grim thus far. For instance, the value of its shares dropped by 2.3 percent at Paris Stock Exchange on Friday. In addition, the two biggest shareholders of Synenco Energy Inc., a Canadian oil sands company, refused to tender their shares in a $472 million takeover bid by French oil firm Total, the Financial Times reported.
D.E. Shaw & Co. LP, a Houston-based investment bank that owns 14 percent of Synenco, and Wellington Management Co. LLP, a Boston-based investment bank that owns 10 percent, want a higher price than C$9 a share.
Synenco has been up for sale since May 2007 after the company said it could not afford to build its Northern Lights oil-sands project on its own.
However, Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari said, “This is our message: we will proceed with development with or without them.“
He was speaking less than 24 hours after Total claimed international political tensions over Tehran’s civilian nuclear program made it too risky to make fresh investments.
Akbar Torkan, deputy oil minister for planning, said Iran could shift some longer-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in South Pars--the world’s biggest gas field--to ones that instead export gas through pipelines. This is a popular option within Iran’s oil and gas industry.
He said, “We can construct the pipeline in our territory at our cost to reach the border, while the European states, such as Austria and Switzerland, can do the same from their lands to reach Iran’s borders without facing investment obstacles.“
However, analysts said that Iran faced significant hurdles. They doubted it would be able to proceed with LNG--an expensive, complex and highly technical undertaking--especially as much of the expertise is restricted to a few big companies and some of the most important propriety technology.

Huge Hole
The decision by Total creates a problem for the world rather than just Iran. The demise of Tehran’s LNG projects represents a loss of about 80bcm a year of potential gas supply, equivalent to Germany’s needs, said analysts.
That creates a huge hole in potential supply at a time when demand from Asia and the Middle East threatens to outpace the substantial capacity being built worldwide.
Samuel Ciszuk, Middle East energy analyst at Global Insight, claimed that national energy groups, such as Russia’s Gazprom, and companies from China would fail to fill the vacuum left by Total. “It is almost impossible. Without the technology and experience they do not have the resources to do it,“ he told the Financial Times.
Western energy companies know this and are quick to stress they are not pulling out of Iran or ending negotiations over projects far in the future.
Indeed, Total, Royal Dutch Shell, Eni and StatoilHydro among others already have a presence in Iran and intend to honor their contracts despite US pressure.
However, all of them have also said they have, for now, put fresh investments on hold. In private, executives say their decisions were prompted by the combination of adverse political climate and the sub-par financial terms offered by the Iranians.
Christophe de Margerie, chief executive of Total, has been one of the few international oil company executives willing to address the issue of reduced supply because of anti-Iran sanctions.
He said that the international standoff made an ’extremely delicate political environment’. He also said politicians who launched military campaigns in Iraq and enacted economic sanctions against Iran needed to be aware that such actions seriously constrained international oil and gas supplies and drove up prices.
Ciszuk agreed with de Margerie that politicians calling on the OPEC--of which Iraq and Iran are members--to boost production were also making decisions that rendered that almost impossible.
Robin West, chairman of PFC Energy, the consulting firm, said, “Over time, supplying gas markets may become as big a challenge as supplying oil markets. Removing Iran from export markets will accelerate this problem.“

A lawmaker will seek a broad review of exports to Iran to see whether exemptions to the illegal US trade sanctions are being abused. Cigarettes and other goods have gone Iran’s way as exports grew during President Bush’s time in office.
Rep. David Scott, vice chairman of the House subcommittee on nonproliferation and trade, said he will press for a congressional review of sanctions enforcement following an Associated Press investigation that found US exports to Iran rose from about $8 million in 2001, Bush’s first year in office, to nearly $150 million last year.
The goods also included soybeans, medicine and medical equipment, musical instruments, cosmetics and military apparel, among other things.
“Once it’s been brought to light, then it’s our duty to go ahead and move on it and not just stand idly by,“ claimed Scott, a Georgia Democrat whose panel is part of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
He said he will reach out to Democrats and Republicans for a bipartisan review. “I think this is an issue that the full committee should take a look at.“
Scott said he wants to know who is getting licenses to export goods to Iran, what they are shipping and whether the government is making sure it has accurate information about the exports.

A memorandum of understanding on launching marketing offices in the nationwide branches of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines (ICCIM) was signed during a meeting of ICCIM head and managers of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI), IRIB reported.
This agreement was inked as part of efforts to help materialize the common goals of ICCIM and TPOI and define the framework for cooperation.
Under one of the provisions of the document, it was decided that TPOI will assist in attracting specialized workforce, sharing know-how and research findings and conducting specialized training course for the personnel of the marketing offices.
Some of the commitments of ICCIM include supplying proper place for housing 10 marketing offices, supplying equipment such as computers and high-speed internet and presenting a monthly report on the performance of proposed offices.
The marketing offices are to render consultation services to customers, dissemination of news, offering online services via TPO.ir alongside with other 10 creditable commercial websites, offering data on export tariffs to 100 target countries and introducing international transportation networks dispatched to 100 target countries.

The government has purchased about 200,000 tons of agro products from farmers since March 20, said a member of the Board of Directors of Rural Cooperative Organization affiliated to Agricultural Jihad Ministry.
Safar Aqaei however told IRNA that the figure is unsatisfactory since the organization plans to purchase 2.3 million tons of crops from farmers in the year to March 2009. “We are facing problems as banks have not made the funds available for the purpose,“ he warned.
Aqaei elaborated that the farm products include barley, fodder, wheat and colza.
Over 1.1 million tons of agricultural crops were purchased in the year to March 2008, he recalled.