Iran's exports to the EU jump by 300 per cent after nuclear agreement
Iranian exports to the EU reached €5.494 billion in 2016, up from €1.235 in 2015. Trade grew by 79 per cent. EU plans to provide technology and money to help Iran curb carbon emissions.
Tehran (AsiaNews) – Iran's exports to the European Union have increased by more than 300 per cent since the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed in July 2015, this according to European Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete who spoke at the first-ever Iran-EU Business Forum on Sustainable Energy in Tehran last week.
More than 50 European companies and business associations and some 40 Iranian energy companies were at the Tehran forum to boost business relations and partnerships between Iran and the EU and lay the ground for further cooperation and joint partnerships in the energy sector.
According to figures released by the European Union's statistics agency Eurostat in February, Iran's exports to the EU stood at €5.494 billion in 2016 as compared to €1.235 in 2015 due to the EU resuming oil imports from Iran following the nuclear deal.
Trade between Iran and the union showed 79 percent boost following the implementation of the nuclear deal.
This comes after years of embargo. Western economic sanctions were eased in 2015 in exchange for a deal on the country’s controversial nuclear programme.
Largely welcomed by the international community, the deal has been a boost for the economy and investments, stimulating urban renewal and reforms in the energy sector.
However, the United States – and critics of the deal, especially Israel – have maintained sanctions against Iran over its ballistic missile programme and the armed support for Shia movements in the Middle East, including the freeze on Iranian assets in the US dating back to the time of the shah of Iran.
Washington also banned the use of US dollars in banking transactions with Iranian companies, scuttling contracts made after the nuclear agreement. Tehran responded by taking the US to the International Court of Justice, for misappropriating almost US$ 2 billion.
The nuclear deal was essential to boost relations between the two sides, especially in the area of renewable energy. In fact, Miguel Arias Cañete said that Europe is ready to help Iran with technology and funds to cut its greenhouse gases. This could help Iran meet 30 per cent of its energy needs by 2030.
According to Majid Shafipour, director of the Centre for International Affairs at Iran’s Department of Energy, the average temperature in Iran has increased by 1.8 degrees Celsius since 1750.
Iran has signed the historic agreement in Paris in December 2015, pledging to decrease emissions by 4 per cent by 2030.
Iranian officials say that with sufficient international aid, the country can reduce its emissions by 12 per cent in the next 13 years.
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