The Embassy of India, in cooperation with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), jointly organised a one-day “India-Iran Trade & Investment Opportunities Seminar” at the Kohenoor Hall of Parsian Evin Hotel, Tehran on 7th October, 2010.  The event was held in association with the Organisation for Investment, Economic & Technical Assistance of Iran (OITEAI), Ministry of Economic Affairs & Finance; Trade Promotion Organisation (TPO) of the Ministry of Commerce of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI); Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries & Mines (ICCI&M) and Iran-India Business Council (IIBC), Tehran.

The event was well attended with participation of the representatives of economic Ministries of the IRI, over 120 Iranian companies, members of the CII business delegation from India and members of the Press Corps.  The speakers at the inaugural session included H.E. Mr.Sanjay Singh, Ambassador of India to Iran, H.E. Mr.Amir Talebi, Director General, Foreign Trade (Asia Oceania) from the TPO, Ministry of Commerce, Mr.  Kholdi Nasab, Deputy Director General, OITEAI,  Ministry of Economy & Finance, Mr. Chitranjan Kapur, leader of the Indian Business delegation and Mr. Faraz Edrissan of the Iran-India Business Council. This was followed by sectoral presentations focusing on auto components, EPC & consultancy, B2B meetings and a business lunch.

The Ambassador in his speech introducing India spoke of its multi-faceted and pluralist character, its dynamic economy, and its emergence as a major economic power.  India’s GDP in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms is currently estimated as over US$3.2 trillion, which makes it the fifth largest economy in the world growing at around 8.5% per annum.  He emphasised the vital importance of energy and infrastructure development for the growth of the Indian economy and this, he emphasised,   provides opportunities for the region.  Pointing out that Iran is India’s second largest supplier of crude oil, he highlighted the growing economic linkages in industry, transit and trade which now is around US$15 billion.  He underlined the institutional linkages that exist between the two countries commenting on the latest meeting of the Joint Economic Commission held in New Delhi in July 2010.

The Director General of TPO, speaking about the growth in bilateral trade, put it around 70% during the last few years, which made India the fourth largest trading partner for Iran in terms of exports, and the 10th trading partner in terms of imports.  The representative of OITEAI highlighted the incentives Iran offered for investments, especially the tax exemptions extended for investments in select sectors.  The leader of the Indian delegation underlined the need for Indian companies to enhance the awareness among Iranian business circles of the capabilities of Indian Industry in various sectors, especially its cost competitiveness and its utilisation of production processes using the latest technology.  The representative of Iran-India business Council called upon the Iranian business community to get familiar with the cost competitiveness and quality of Indian products. He also called upon Indian industrialists to benefit from the investment opportunities in Iran.

The “India-Iran Trade and Investment Opportunities Seminar” made an useful contribution towards increasing awareness on both sides of capabilities inherent in the two countries and the opportunities that exist for enhancing bilateral cooperation.

Tehran

26 October 2010