TEHRAN – A large Italian trade delegation, headed by Deputy Economic Development Minister Federico Ghizzoni, will arrive in Tehran today to seek new opportunities in the post-sanctions Iran, the IRIB reported on Monday.

Some 370 representatives of over 250 Italian companies from five sectors - medical, green energy, automobiles, construction and manufacturing equipment - are scheduled to meet senior Iranian officials and business figures during their three-day visit.

The economic initiative has been result of the collective work of Italian ministries of Economic Development and Foreign Affairs in close collaboration with Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (IIFT), Italian Banking Association (IBA), General Confederation of Italian Industry (GCLI), etc.

Licia Mattioli, the head of technical committee for internationalization and foreign investors of GCLI, attaches great importance to Iran as there have been long-standing economic ties between the two countries.

Italy was the leading European trading partner of Iran before sanctions were imposed on the Islamic Republic. Iran-Italy annual trade stood at $7 billion prior to the sanctions, while it has dropped to around $1 billion now, according to Iran-Italy Joint Chamber of Commerce’s Chairman Ahmad Pourfallah.

Italy also took the lead among Iran’s European trading partners in the previous Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 20. 

Already in August, Italian Economic Development Minister Federica Guidi, heading a delegation of 300 traders and businessmen, traveled to Iran to explore new investment opportunities in Iran after removal of sanctions against the Islamic Republic. 

AK/