9 February 2016 - The Italian Government and Companies has organized a mission to Teheran, followed the signing of 17 Memoranda of Understanding in Rome, on January 25th, 2016, at the presence of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Policy, Ministry of Infrastructures and Transport along with Confindustria (Italian Industries Association) and ICE (Italian Institute for Foreign Trade).
“Two days of intense work in the fields of construction works, infrastructures and transport, represented by 93 companies and oil&gas and agro-food sectors, in order to define the projects on which concentrate our proposals”, said Infrastructures and Transport Minister, Graziano Delrio, with the Minister of Agricultural and Forestry Policy, Maurizio Martina.
“The many scheduled meetings aim to achieve this specific goal, which have already produced new concrete steps towards a full cooperation” Delrio said. In the morning, Minister Delrio participated in the bilateral meeting with Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Abbas Ahmad Akhoundi. The Italian Delegation also included FS Group, ANAS, Finmeccanica, Confindustria, Sace and Simest. Then the main opportunities in various infrastructural sectors - such as: road transport, railways, ports and airports - were deeply explored.
“We are working – the Minister said – in a spirit of partnership and proactive cooperation, recognizing the crucial role of Iran and offering Italian innovative experiences gained in the area as well as proposing Italian role of European gateway to Mediterranean sea. We intend to choose the proposals of greatest interest to both our Countries as soon as possible”.
The plenary session, which started the works with Ministers Martina and Delrio along with their Iranian Counterparts, saw the signature of 6 new Memoranda of Understanding between companies or companies associations - among which FS Group and ANAS - which provided a very detailed program of the Italian-Iranian cooperation.
A further meeting on infrastructures, public works and transportation issues was held in the headquarters of the Iranian Companies Association, during which specific in-depth analysis was carried out to the benefit of the Companies of both Countries. Minister Delrio had then bilateral meetings focused on port and airport issues; other sector business meeting are planned for tomorrow.