A new round of cooperation has kicked off between Iran and Germany’s Lurgi GmbH in the Iranian petrochemical industries.

Director of Production Control in Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Alimohammad Bosaghzadeh expounded on new collaborations with the German company of Lurgi GmbH saying “aiming to complete its value chain, Iran’s NPC has developed careful plans including launch of cooperation with Gernaby’s Lurgi on construction of a polypropylene production unit in partnership with Iran’s Petrochemical Research and Technology Company (PRTC).”

The official recalled that the joint venture with the German firm marks Iran’s first ever cooperation with a foreign firm over production of the petrochemical product.

“Iran’s PRTC has so far constructed a pilot polypropylene construction unit,” stressed Bosaghzadeh adding that NPC seeks to reach a total production volume of 120 thousand tons per year.

He went on to underline that current PRTC projects aim to increase the amount of polypropylene to 500 thousand tons hence the accord with foreign companies like Lurgi GmbH.

Previously, Director of the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Marzieh Shah-Daei had pointed to opening and official operation of the first semi-industrial polypropylene manufacturing unit in the country’s petrochemical industry asserting “the unit’s output is expected to reach 500 thousand tons in collaboration with Lurgi GmbH of Germany.

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Germany has reportedly agreed to provide Iran with a €1.2 billion ($1.27 billion) credit line to help finance a key rail project in what is seen as the biggest foreign financing the country has been able to secure after the removal of sanctions.

Bloomberg has quoted an unnamed official from the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) as saying that the financing will be provided to the Islamic Republic through Germany’s state-run lender KfW IPEX. The official added that it would be used for the development of the railway from Tehran to Mashhad.

The funding has been agreed in principle and is close to being finalized, Bloomberg quoted Michael Tockuss, chairman of the Germany-Iran Chamber of Commerce, as saying. It would be the biggest credit line Iran has secured from foreign sources since the easing of sanctions in January, he added.

The announcement comes only a few days after the tragic crash of two trains on Tehran-Mashhad railway left dozens dead and many wounded. The crash was blamed on human error but nonetheless revived a debate at home that the country’s ageing rail fleet needs to be renovated.

Germany’s Siemens has already announced serious plans to help develop Iran’s railway system. Local media reported earlier this year that the company had signed several agreements with Iran to develop its railway network, including the electrification of the Tehran to Mashhad line. Also, officials in Tehran said earlier this month that talks were underway with Siemens to acquire high-speed trains from the company through 30-year leasing deals.

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An official has reported on an agreement with Germany‘s Hermes Insurance Company to provide insurance coverage for investment projects in Iranian petrochemical industries.

Speaking at a press conference, Director for Investment of National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Hossein Alimorad described the most major plans for attraction of investment to the country’s petrochemical industry saying “a contract has been recently inked with Japan’s Marubeni Corporation to reopen a 320-million-euro Line of Credit (LOC).”

The official also referred to new negotiations with yet another Japanese firm to reopen an LOC worth 640 million euros asserting “talks with the Japanese side are in final stages of drafting the contract which is estimated to be sealed within weeks.”

He also pointed to the visit of an Iranian delegation to Berlin at the invitation of Iran’s Embassy in Germany; “the trip aims to launch a fresh round of negotiations with banks, insurance firms as well as companies willing to make direct investment in the Iranian petchem industry.”

“Final agreement has been reached with Germany’s Hermes Insurance firm in the course of recent talks,” stressed Alimorad noting that the German side has agreed to take out insurance against new investments in petrochemical industries of Iran.

The NPC official also touched upon the held talks with German banks on attracting investment to the industry stating “a short-term scenario has been finalized based on which investment attraction will be performed under the guarantee of NPC as the government’s representative.”

In response to a question on the amount of investment by German companies, NPC’s director for investment said in the first step, agreement has been reached on reopening three billion euros of LOC while three to six more billion euros are expected to be opened in the second phase.

Negotiations have also been conducted with German firms on making 12 billion euros of new investment in Iran’s petrochemical industry

“Negotiations have also been conducted with German firms on making 12 billion euros of new investment in Iran’s petrochemical industry in addition to the three-billion-euro Line of Credit,” reiterated Alimorad adding “two senior officials of a giant German petchem company will soon travel to Tehran in order to finalize earlier talks as well as to evaluate NPC’s proposed economic projects.”

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Report: Facilitating investment in Iran petrochemical industry

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Figures released by the Customs Administration of Iran show that the country’s exports from Germany have increased by 25 percent.

Iran’s official figures show that the country’s imports from Germany have increased by a quarter in what could be a fresh indication of growing opening in Iran’s post-sanctions business environment.

Iran imported $1.27 billion worth of goods from Germany over a period of seven months

Figures released by the Customs Administration of Iran showed that the country imported $1.27 billion worth of goods from Germany over a period of seven months starting 21 March 2016 – the start of the current Iranian calendar year of 1395.

This shows an increase of around 25 percent compared to the same period last year. It also shows that Germany is now the fifth main exporter to Iran and the leading European country with a significant level of trade activities with the Islamic Republic.

The top four exporters to Iran – as figures relating to the same seven-month period showed – are China ($5.71 billion), the UAE ($4.98 billion), South Korea ($1.88 billion) and Turkey ($1.55 billion), figures released by the Customs Administration of Iran showed.

The top importers of Iranian non-oil commodities and services over the same period have been China ($4.43 billion), the UAE ($3.88 billion), Iraq ($3.50 billion), Turkey ($2.50 billion) and South Korea ($1.95 billion).

A majority of Iran’s exported items are downstream products such as condensate, liquefied petroleum gas, gas oil, propane and others.

Key items imported during the period have been cattle feedstock, soy, rice, auto spare parts and vehicles.

Figures released by Iran’s Customs Administration last month showed that the country’s non-oil exports to Europe for a period of five months starting 21 March 2016 had increased by 21 percent. Top importers were accordingly identified as Italy, Spain and Germany.

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A total of ten documents and agreements for joint cooperation were signed between Iran and Germany on Monday in Tehran.

The deals were sealed during the fifth Iran-Germany Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation on October 03 in the presence of German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Iranian Minister of Economic Affairs Ali Tayebnia.

The newly-signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) cover a wide range of areas for cooperation including project financing, mutual investment, joint ventures, banking and insurance cooperation, infrastructure in oil, gas and petrochemical sectors, renewable energy, railway, environment, roads and urban development, automotive, airlines and technology transfer.

Iran’s Tayebnia, in his remarks during the MoU signing ceremony, said the Islamic Republic of Iran and its private sector have always pursued the policy of strengthening economic ties with other countries and traditional partners, Germany in particular; “in the year 2008, the volume of trade turnover between Iran and Germany reached six billion dollars to turn Germans into Iran’s top trade partners among European Union member states.”

“The figure indicates the depth of economic relations between the two sides which were never interrupted even in the period of unfair sanctions against Iran thanks to the bond and friendship between the two nations,” he continued.

The Iranian economy minister further asserted “given that resumption of relations between Iran and Germany has been made possible in the wake of Iran’s successful negotiations with the 5+1, no effort should be spared in taking practical steps towards stronger collaboration in areas of common interest like investment, technology transfer, car manufacturing, oil, gas, renewable energies, aviation as well as financial and banking ties.” /MNA

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Iran says Germany is preparing to implement an action plan to invest €3 billion in different industries of the Islamic Republic.

Ali Majedi, Iran’s ambassador to Germany, said the investments will be made through a consortium comprising six German banks.

Majedi emphasized that the related agreements for this will be signed during the visit to Tehran by the German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel.

He added that Iran and Germany have over the past months devised fast track economic cooperation plans and that those plans include the development of power plants and generation of electricity.

A recent agreement that Germany’s Siemens signed with Iran’s MAPNA Group to transfer the technology of gas-powered turbines is an example of such plans, the Iranian envoy said.

Others, he added, concern producing electric and diesel locomotives as well as train cars and providing the signaling systems for Tehran-Isfahan – and probably Tehran-Mashhad – tracks.

Majedi further emphasized that Germany’s Volkswagen plans to transfer the technology to Iran to produce two of its models – what he said will be part of the same fast track plans devised by the two countries.

Gabriel is expected to arrive in Tehran on Sunday evening heading a major business delegation.

He has already announced that a German-Iranian business commission will meet for the first time in 15 years during his stay in the country, emphasizing that concrete business deals will also be announced.

The German minister was one of the first high-ranking foreign officials to visit Iran immediately after a series of economic sanctions against the country were lifted in January.

He canceled a scheduled trip to Iran to attend a meeting of Iran-Germany Economic Commission for the first time in 15 years early May, citing poor health. /Press TV

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Germany and Iran have signed a range of business deals in what is expected to take economic relations between the two countries to a new level.

The German Economy Ministry announced in a statement that several Mittelstand firms, the small-to-medium-sized companies that form the backbone of the economy, had signed the deals with their Iranian partners during a landmark visit to Tehran by Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel.

On the same front, Reuters reported that Mitsubishi Germany signed a contract to modernize a gas-fired plant, while plant constructor Keller HCW sealed an agreement to build a brickyard in Iran. Others that signed deals in Tehran included SMS group, a builder of steel making plants and INTRA industrial solutions, Reuters quoted the German Economy Ministry as announcing in its statement.

The central banks of Iran and Germany also agreed on technical co-operation, Reuters added. There was no detail on the size of the agreed deals.

Gabriel – who is heading a 160-strong business delegation to Tehran – had earlier emphasized that Germany wants to help Iran push ahead with reforms, and promised to remind the United States of its commitment to reduce sanctions against Iran.

This is Gabriel’s second visit to Iran since the country reached a deal in July last year to restrict certain aspects of its nuclear energy activities in return for the removal of some economic sanctions that had been imposed on it for several years.

Industrial giant Siemens AG and automaker Daimler AG are expected to be the first German firms to benefit from opportunities in Iran after the removal of the sanctions, Reuters said. Nevertheless, they are proceeding carefully and only after legal reviews.

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Some Corona Covid-19 vaccination centers in Tehran are working 24/7 in line with the government’s instructions to step up the general vaccination rate.

IRAN to administer 50 mn Corona vaccines by end of summer

Iran’s new Health Minister Bahram Einollah has said that the country will break Germany’s record of weekly administering of 5 million doses of vaccines.

Speaking to reporters after attending a meeting with the Iranian lawmakers on Tuesday, Bahram Einollah, the new Iranian health minister said that the general vaccination of the Iranian people is gaining momentum, adding that the country will administer 50 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of summer.

He said while at the end of the previous administration in the middle of summer only 5 million doses of vaccines had been administered in the country, while after the new administration took office, the campaign accelerated and now the vaccination rate has exceeded more than 38 million of doses.

The new health minister added that the vaccination of 18-year-old people will begin very soon.

According to him, efforts are underway to vaccinate students and young people quickly.

He also said that soon all those who want to leave the country should have received two doses of vaccine, and upon their return to the country, they must have a negative PCR test in order to avert a new wave of the coronavirus in the country.

Einollah also noted that the new government in Iran under President Ebrahim Raeisi has authorized the domestic production of five Covid-19 vaccines.

Meanwhile, the spokesman for Iran’s National Task Force for Fighting Covid-19 Alireza Raeisi who said that the country has not got through the deadly fifth wave of the Covid-19.

Raeisi predicted that the daily death toll from the pandemic in Iran will decline from the current 500 to below 50 people in the middle of fall, when a large portion of the Iranian population has received both doses of the vaccines.

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‘Khoniagaran-e Mehr’ the famous Iranian women traditional music group performed online during coronavirus. The first case of Covid19 in Iran was officially announced on February 19, 2010.

“Khonyagaran-e Mehr” is a female musicians band with a brilliant background, led by Behzad Abdi,that performs various concerts in persian music.
“Khonyagaran-e Mehr”, consists of twelve musicians, formed in may 2017. In August 2017 they held a successful concert at the Vahdat Hall with Mohammad Motamedi as a singer.

In October 2017, “Khonyagaran-e Mehr” performed at the “Eimehestan” festival in Armenia and received award from Culture Minister of Armenia.
In February 2017, “Khonyagaran-e Mehr” performed at the Fajr Festival with Vahid Taj as a singer.This performance was appreciated by the audience.
In july 2017, two music videos of Khonyagaran-e Mehr were displayed for a month in Expo of Kazakhstan.
In August 2018, “Khonyagaran-e Mehr” held a concert for Iranian ladies in Niavaran Cultural Center with a singer named “Sayeh Sodeyfi”.
In November 2017, the soloists of “Khonyagaran-e Mehr” held a concert with the Organizal Orchestra in Kostiol church in kiev, Ukraine.
In February 2018, “Khonyagaran-e Mehr” and Vahid Taj performed in Philharmonic Hall of kiev, Ukraine.

In February 2019, they performed at the Fajr Festival with Navid Norouzi as a singer.They also performed in closing the Fajr Music Festival.
In March 2019, they held successful performances in three cities of Germany : Berlin, Hamburg and Frankfurt.
In April 2019, they performed at the “le Magie des Hirondelles du Printemps” festival in Paris,France.
In April 2019, held concert in Bern,Switzerland.
In October 2019 held concert in Womex festival in Tampere, Finland.

WOMEX 19 is one of the world’s largest music events which hostd publishers, independent musicians, organizers, and state organizations in music every year from over 90 countries.

‘Khoniagaran-e Mehr’ founded and led by Behzad Abdi.

Mehrnam Rastegari (Kamancheh),
Samaneh Barouti, Nazanin Rousta (Qichak Alto),
Neginzadeh Vakili (Qichak Bass),
Hila Feyzpour (Tar),
Torgol Khaliqi (Tar and Rabab),
Seda Sedifi (Qanun),
Rokhsareh Rostami Daristani (Oud),
Bahareh Heydari (Tar Bass),
Sheida Ghazi (Ney),
Mehrnaz Dabirzadeh (Tombak and percussion instruments)

Behzad Abdi (born 1973, Tehran) is an Iranian composer of opera, film and television music

He came to international attention in 2006 with his “Nuclear Symphony”, commissioned by the government to celebrate Iran’s nuclear achievements.

The IMDb database cites film and television music for no less than 43 productions between 2010 and 2018.

Abdi studied setar and Iranian traditional music and also Western classical music at the Tchaikovsky Academy in Ukraine, beginning his studies there in 2003.

He has been described as “the first composer to write Iranian traditional opera fusing Iranian traditional and Western classical music.”

His opera “Rumi” from 2009, based on the life of Rumi, with libretto by Behrouz Gharibourm, and with Mohammad Motamadi, has been released on a UK label, Naxos.

Abdi is currently based in Kiev, Ukraine.

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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says friendly countries should exert pressure on the United States to lift its “cruel and one-sided” sanctions against Tehran at the current juncture that the Islamic Republic is diligently fighting the deadly new coronavirus pandemic.

In a phone call with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, on Monday, the Iranian president emphasized that it is more difficult for Iran in comparison with other countries to battle the coronavirus when it is under the US sanctions.

“The US administration has not only violated international regulations by imposing illegal sanctions on Iran, but is also breaching health regulations ratified by the World Health Organization in 2005 through its measures under the current circumstances,” Rouhani said.

The Iranian president once again expressed the country’s readiness to return to full compliance with its commitments under the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), it clinched with major world powers in 2015 only if all sanctions against the country are removed.

“The removal of sanctions and fulfillment of its commitments by Europe are a necessity, which has become more significant at the current specific situation,” the Iranian president pointed out.

The United States reinstated its sanctions against Iran in May 2018 after leaving a United Nations-endorsed nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic and five other major powers — the UK, France, Russia, China plus Germany.

Since then, Washington has corded other countries to follow suit and mount pressure on Iran or face punishment.
Former world officials: US sanctions compromising Iran healthcare system amid pandemic

The United States has refused to lift sanctions on Iran and even tightened them several times in recent weeks, making it almost impossible for the Islamic Republic to access life-saving medications and medical equipment necessary in the fight against the deadly new coronavirus pandemic.

Iran says the unilateral US sanctions have seriously hampered its fight against the pandemic.

Presenting the latest update on Monday, Iran’s Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour reported 2,274 new infections and 136 more deaths from the virus over the past 24 hours.

In total, 60,500 Iranians have tested positive for COVID-19 while 3,739 have died, he pointed out, adding that 24,236 patients have fully recovered so far.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian president welcomed an initiative by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to declare a global ceasefire amid the coronavirus pandemic, expressing hope that it would also include the economic war on Iran.

The UN chief on Friday renewed his call for a global ceasefire, urging all parties in conflict to lay down arms and allow war-torn nations to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

“The worst is yet to come,” Guterres said, referring to countries beset with fighting like Syria, Libya, and Yemen, adding, “The COVID-19 storm is now coming to all these theaters of conflict.”

Rouhani also described as “positive but insufficient” the initial steps taken to implement INSTEX, a trade mechanism set up by Britain, France and Germany in 2019 to protect companies doing business with Iran from Washington’s sanctions. He emphasized that the mechanism should not be limited only to medical equipment and food, but must be also implemented in a way that would enable Iran to “use it to meet all our country’s requirements.”

The three European signatories to the JCPOA unveiled the long-awaited direct non-dollar payment mechanism meant to safeguard their trade ties with Tehran following the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal and in the face of the “toughest ever” sanctions imposed by the United States against the Islamic Republic./ Press TV

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