Iran seeks to expand economic ties with Germany

A high-ranking Iranian economic delegation will attend a conference in Germany to explore ways with German businessmen to boost bilateral ties, Tehran Times daily reported on Sunday. In the conference to be held on April 8 in Berlin, Iranian Industry, Mines, and Trade Minister Mohammad-Reza Nematzadeh will lead the delegation which will be comprised of the director of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran, three deputy ministers, as well as 10 managers of key Iranian industrial enterprises. The visit comes following the deal signed between Iran and the world powers in Geneva last Nov. 24 to resolve the country's controversial nuclear program. The Islamic republic is seeking foreign investment in its diverse economic projects. Under the deal, the United States and its allies have started to lift part of sanctions on Iran in the fields of petrochemicals, auto industries and civil aviation. They have also agreed to unfreeze part of Iran's blocked assets in western banks. In February, a visiting German official said that "whatever the results of the negotiations between Iran and the P5+1, we will have trade ties with Iran since we are fully ready for good cooperation with Iran's trade centers." "We want to say that we are interested in the development of relations between Iran and Germany," the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of Germany's northwestern city of Hanover, Horst Schrage, was quoted as saying by semi-official Fars news agency. In the month, Iran and Germany agreed to set up a special working group to expand mutual cooperation in agricultural sector.