French firms eager to invest in Iran
French companies are eagerly looking for investment opportunities in the Iranian market, as the country today is in a position that can choose from amongst an array of trade offers, a trade official says.
In such an atmosphere, it is possible for Iran to establish effective relations with the world and take advantage of the available grounds to fully expand ties in every sector, Chairman of the French-Iranian Trade Promotion Center (CPCFI) Mohsen Rashidi told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Monday evening.
He said that since implementation of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the major world powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), numerous French enterprises visited Iran.
One of the most important delegations, he said, was from Medef (Le Mouvement des enterprises de France) that visited Iran three times to open their headquarters.
But, under sanctions, despite repeated calls, they preferred not to engage in the Iranian market, Rashidi said.
Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany signed the JCPOA in 2015, under which Iran accepted to curb its nuclear program in return of lifting related sanctions.
'Before the nuclear deal, the French businessmen used to prefer Qatar to Iran,' the chairman of the French-Iranian Trade Promotion Center added.
The first conference of mayors in the history of Iran-Europe relations was held in France, and this year, an exhibition on female entrepreneurs will be held in Paris, he said, describing the events as evidence to enhancement of ties between Iran and France.
As to the delegation's visit to Alborz Province, Rashidi said, the French businessmen are going to evaluate investment capacities in the province.
There are high potentials for investment in the province and the French delegation during its stay is going to study possible ways to develop bilateral trade ties expected to benefit both sides, the official said.
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