Another four-year in the office
Dr. Hassan Rouhani, swore as the President for the second term on Saturday. In his speech at the Parliament, President Rouhani, emphasized on continuation of engagement with the world. “Promoting constructive interaction with the world, deepening bonds with neighboring and regional countries, and developing cooperation with friendly states are not only an informed choice but also a necessity to improve international peace and security”, said he.
Hassan Rouhani, 68, the centrist cleric, was elected on May 19th wining 24 million votes.
Governmental organization to consume Iranian tea
In a letter to the Vice President of Iran, Eshaq Jahangiri, the Minister of Agriculture, Mahmoud Hojjati, requested that executive organizations procure their tea from domestic manufacturers.
Based on statistics released by the Iranian Tea Organization, the consumption of Iranian dry tea from 19 thousand tons in 2013 has increased to 31 thousand tons in 2016, which indicates a 63% growth. However, more than 70% of tea consumption in Iran is imported. Ministry of Agricultre hopes to change this trend.
Read more about Tea cultivation in Iran
Iraq’s request for more natural gas
The Deputy Minister of Oil, Hamidreza Araghi, announced Iraq’s request for increasing natural gas imports from Iran. Regarding exporting natural gas to Iraq, Mr Araghi, also Managing Director of the National Iranian Gas Company, said: “Daily export to Iraq has reached 7 to 8 million cubic meters.”
Exporting natural gas from Iran to Iraq resumed on the 21st June after having been halted for several years.
“Increasing capacities will allow us to increase export by increasing productions from the South Pars field. Currently however, exportation is based on the existing contract”, added Mr Araghi on the subject of increasing the export of natural gas to Iraq.
Alstom will manufacture rail wagons in Iran
The Industrial Development & Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO) and French Alstom have signed a contract to manufacture 10 thousand urban rail wagons.
“In spite of emphasis on rail transportation from the Islamic Revolution onwards, shares of this form of transportation have been small. Due to the need in industry and mining, we seek to develop the rail industry. Subway projects have been started in seven major cities and one of their primary needs is wagons”, said Mohammadreza Nematzadeh, Minister of Industry and Mining.
Regarding the international agreement between IDRO and Alstom, the Chairman of the Board of Directors at IDRO, Mansour Moazemi, said: “This cooperation was based on the needs of the country and emphasis by the parliament in order to develop this sector and increase wagon production capacity by 8 to 10 thousand units. This agreement not only covers design and manufacture, but also know-how transfer and after sales services.”
The Industrial Development & Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO) is active in investment and management in the areas of energy, trade, mining, agriculture and railways.
Dear readers, the next issue of Iran Economy in Brief will be published on Thursday, 24 August. We wish you all “Buon Ferragosto”!
