The country’s imports from Iran in 2018 was 31 percent of the total of European countries’ imports from Iran. However, the figure registered an annual decrease of 13 percent in 2018 from its previous €3.36 billion in 2017.

According to the data published by Eurostat, Germany with exports of €2.7 billion to Iran, i.e. 30 percent of the total exports of EU to Iran, was the main European exporter to Iran last year, the same report added.

Germany’s exports to Iran showed eight percent decrease in 2018 in comparison with the preceding year when the figure stood at €2.95 billion.

In 2018, after Italy, Spain (€2.02 billion) and France (€1.53 billion) were respectively the major importers from Iran while Italy (€1.68 billion) and France (€895 million) were the main exporters after Germany to Iran.

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Iranian singer Parvaz Homay and members of his ensemble Mastan will accompany the orchestra during the open-air performances that will take place at Tehran’s Niavaran Cultural Historical Palace on July 26 and 27.

Homay, who is a Persian traditional singer and composer, is scheduled to perform a repertoire of his latest pieces as well as some of his hits.

Earlier last year, Gerola and Homay held a tour of the U.S. and in addition to his concert tour in America, they held some performances in Iran.

Mastan features Milad Alipur on tar, Moslem Alipur on kamancheh, Mohammad Nozari on santur and Pasha Hanji on ney.

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New Managing Director of the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) Sirous Kianersi described latest status of oil displacement agreements between NITC and huge European oil companies saying “so far, 35 contracts have been inked with European sides for taking out leases on 35 Iranian tankers.”

The official stated that the 35 lease contracts had been signed with oil giants from various EU states like Greece, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands asserting that the deals were spot contracts which were sealed for transport of crude oil.

He highlighted that Iranian tankers enjoyed highest standards for transference of crude oil in ports and oil terminals of the European Union (EU); “so far, agreements have been signed with majority of European oil firms like Spain’s Cepsa, Italy’s Eni in addition to Greek and Dutch companies.

In view of post-JCPOA conditions and removal of restrictions, more agreements will be sealed with European oil giants for displacement of crude oil, the official reiterated.

Last week, Kianersi had reported on berthing of Iranian oil tankers at EU oil terminals stressing that the first Iranian tanker had tied up at a Spanish socking site.

For the first time ever, an Iranian tanker, which has been lent out to a large Spanish oil company, moored at Algeciras port of the European state.

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The Puccini Festival Orchestra, one of the most prestigious orchestras of Italy, came to Iran with conductor Paolo Olmi and 40 musicians to dazzle the audience gathered at Vahdat Hall on Thursday night with a breathtaking performance together with an Iranian ensemble from Tehran Symphony Orchestra under the baton of acclaimed Iranian maestro Shahrdad Rohani.

All tickets to this highly-anticipated performance were sold out within the first hour and the beautiful 750-seated hall of Vahdat became enameled for the next two hours with the powerful, soul-moving and heartfelt notes of violins, cellos, contrabasses, oboes and clarinets.

Before the orchestra began, Rohani greeted the audience with a sad smile and dedicated the night’s performance to the injured and victims of Plasco building collapse in Tehran as well as those who lost their lives in an earthquake in Italy.

Following that, the audience all rose in respect to the national anthems of Iran and Italy played by the musicians on stage.

Rohani conducted the first three pieces including “William Tell” by Gioachino Rossini, his own composition “Persian Garden”, and “The Capriccio Italien” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. After a short intermission, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 was conducted flawlessly by Paolo Olmi.

The performance of “Persian Garden” had a special added beauty as Rohani invited Iranian violoncello solo performer Nasim Saad to bestow upon the ever hungry ears of the audience the soulful, plaintive notes of the wavering strings.

The piece ended with Rohani’s remark on the stage, “this cultural exchange between Italian musicians and Tehran Symphony Orchestra shows just how much these two nations have in common.”

He went on to add, “all human beings have something in common. Just imagine how more beautiful this world could be if we focused on our similarities instead of differences. We are all the same and it does not matter where we have come from.”

Rohani then revealed another surprise just before the intermission: “While the presence of two maestros at one concert is uncommon, I have to say that tonight we have actually three.” He then went on to introduce Alberto Veronesi who conducted a short piece composed by legendary Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini.

The performance was concluded by Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, performed in four consecutive sections, which gave Vahdat Hall a reverent, solemn air. Despite long, standing ovation, the performance was not followed by a bis, perhaps because the Italian ensemble needed to fly back to their country that night.

The composition of the musicians was so that each Italian musician was seated next to an Iranian in a symbolic move to stress on unity and commonality.

“The Italian musicians all spoke in praise of the Iranian musicians and admitted that they had not expected to witness such quality work from Tehran Symphony Orchestra,” Rohani had said in an interview prior to the concert.

“In the short period of time that I was in Iran, I felt that Persian music has influenced European music,” maestro Paolo Olmi said. “The kind of music that I heard at the restaurants in Iran sounded a lot like Italian pop music. The similarities are all there and this shows how different cultures can influence and be influenced by one another.”

Olmi went on to add, “I have had a good experience with Iranian musicians of Tehran Symphony Orchestra. They are young, energetic and professional. I am actually looking forward to having Tehran Symphony Orchestra in Italy and introduce them to our people.”

The 32nd Fajr International Music Festival, Iran’s most reputable music event, was held from January 11-20, 2017 in various avenues in capital Tehran. The international section introduced to the Iranian audience music from Azerbaijan Republic, India, Lebanon, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and Japan. Winners of this edition of the festival will be announced on Sunday.

Paolo Olmi began his career in 1979 as conductor of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. He has directed operas and concerts all over the world (Tokyo, Berlin, Paris, Chicago, Madrid, Lisbon, Venice, Rome, Milan, Barcelona, Beijing, Shanghai). He has conducted almost all works by Giuseppe Verdi, Puccini, Mozart, Gaetano Donizetti, and Umberto Giordano. From 1990-1993, he was the Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of RAI National Symphony Orchestra. From 2006-2011, he was the musical director and artistic adviser of the Opera National de Nancy et de Lorraine in France. Since 2002, he is a visiting professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London./ Mehrnews

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Italy was first among European importers of Iranian commodities importing over 678,000 tons of Iranian goods worth more than $385 million in the nine-month period, announced Iran’s customs office, IRNA reported.

It further said that 40 European countries imported Iranian goods valued at $1.856 billion.

In late November, Italian Ambassador to Iran Mauro Conciatori in a meeting with Hormuzgan Governor General Jassem Jadari in Bandar Abbas voiced Rome’s willingness to expand economic and industrial relations with Tehran.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi met in New York which was the fourth meeting in the past years, he pointed out. During the meeting the two sides underscored the need to double efforts to broaden relations, Conciatori said during the meeting.

He reiterated that Iran and Italy have deep familiarity about each other and have been in contact with each other through Silk Road which can pave the way for boosting ties between the two countries.

Conciatori pointed to the berthing of Italian warship in Bandar Abbas, and said, “The presence of the Italian warship shows the positive development in relations between the two countries.”

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Deputy Head of NIOC for Development and Engineering Affairs Gholamreza Manouchehri said “a list recently published by National Iranian Oil Company was relevant to applicants from Spain, Germany, Italy, Austria, Japan, China and South Korea which had been qualified in Pre-Qualified Iran’s Oil and Gas Upstream Projects Tender Round.”

“Names of Lukoil and Gazprom from Russia were on the list,” highlighted the official asserting that a second list of qualified foreign companies will be soon released.

Manouchehri, while estimating that Russian firms, whose name were among qualified candidates, will be present in the second, underlined that NIOC has inked Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with Russia’s Zarubezhneft and Tatneft both of whom were absent in the first published list.

“NIOC must have approved of all firms with which a cooperation agreement has been inked,” noted the official.

He further maintained that claims on disqualification of Russian firms reiterated that Iran welcomed cooperation with credible Russian parties who held new technologies.

National Iranian Oil Company has so far sealed MoUs with seven Russian oil giants for development projects or boosting recovery factor in various oil and gas fields.

Accordingly, research and development MoUs have been signed with Russian firms like Lukoil, Tatneft, Zarubezhneft and Gazprom for expansion of seven Iranian oilfields including Mansouri, Ab Teimour, Aban, West Paydar, Dehloran, Cheshmeh Khoshk and Chenguleh.

Accordingly, Russian firms enjoy the highest rate of cooperation in upstream sector of Iran’s oil and gas industry as compared with Asian or European companies.

Nevertheless, names of Russneft, Tatneft and Zarubezhneft were missing on the recently-published list by NIOC giving rise to hypotheses that the three Russian oil giants had been disqualified.

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Gholamali Kamyab said attracting $10 billion of foreign finance has been defined as a project for the CBI in the area of Resistance Economy, Tasnim News Agency reported.

He made the remarks in a meeting with CBI officials, which was attended by First Vice-President Es’haq Jahangiri in Tehran.

The measures taken by the CBI in this regard include extensive talks with some foreign banks, such as the Export–Import (Exim) Bank of China, Italy’s Mediobanca and Denmark’s Danske Bank, he noted.

The CBI vice governor added that up to now, 72 percent of the project has been implemented.

There has been a new wave of interest in ties with Iran since Tehran and the P5+1 group of countries – Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany – reached a deal on Iran’s nuclear program in 2015.

The comprehensive nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), terminated all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran.

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Ahmad Sadeqi Golmakani told IRNA that a Chinese state-owned company has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) worth $2 billion with the Iranian side to invest in SPEZ.

He said the MoU is considered the biggest foreign investment in that region, adding that foreign investments in Sarakhs Special Economic Zone have increased in the past year.

Several foreign investors from South Korea, Italy and China have recently voiced their willingness to invest in the region, he noted.

SPEZ, which covers an area of 5,290 hectares, is situated the northeast of Iran and connects ports on the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to Central Asia, the Caucasus and Russia.

In view of its geographical location as in the center of ECO countries, the zone is being considered the golden gate for Central Asia, China and Russia. It connects major trade markets in Central Asia with the Persian Gulf countries in the south of Iran, Europe in the west as well as Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east of the country.

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Executive Director for International Affairs at National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Seyed Mohsen Ghamsari, while pointing to launch of oil sales to Eni in the post-JCPOA era, said Iran has so far deployed one cargo of crude oil to the Italian firm within a short-term contract.

The logo of oil company Eni-Saipem is pictured on a barrel in Rome, Italy, March 5 2016. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

He however highlighted that negotiations are being conducted to sign a long-term oil sale contract with Eni; “in addition to Eni, an agreement has been also sealed with Italy‘s Saras SpA for oil sales in 2016.”

“The possibility exists to ship 30 to 60 thousand barrels of crude oil to Saras SpA per day and the Italian company calls for differing amounts which can vary from 30 to 60 thousand barrels per day.

NIOC officials had previously announced that Iran could sell 100 thousand barrels of crude oil per day to Italy’s Eni in case an agreement was reached.

Iran has no limitaion for export oil to Sri Lanka and South Africa

On latest status of resumption of oil sales to Sri Lanka and South Africa as two traditional customers, Ghamsari underscored that crude exports to the two Asian and African states had reached a hiatus.

The NIOC official recalled that Iran perceived no limitation on oil sales to the two countries; “nevertheless, share of South African refineries are held by European and American oil giants.”

He emphasized that necessary negotiations had been held with refinery stakeholders in South Africa estimating that crude exports to the African state will soon become operational.

Almost two years ago, the South African Deputy Minister of Energy, Ambassador Thembisile Majola had also announced South Africa’s plan to purchase oil from Iran saying “majority of South African refineries are managed by foreign companies and we could encourage them to resume trade with Tehran following the removal of oil sanctions.”

Sri Lanka, also, marks a traditional customer of Iranian crude as 100 per cent of the oil demand in its only oil refinery, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, was supplied by Iran before the imposition of international sanctions.

At the present time, Sri Lanka’s total crude oil demand is estimated to be approximately 45 to 50 thousand barrels per day.

Following the application of international sanctions, Iran’s crude was replaced by Saudi Arabian and Omani oil in the East Asian country’s Ceylon refinery.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan Minister Petroleum Resources Development Chandima Weerakkody had then announced that the use of Saudi Arabia’s oil had brought about a significant decline in the country’s gasoline production.

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He said since the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal in January, tens of Italian economic activists have visited Iran to explore investment opportunities in the country, IRNA reported.

The Italian official said that given Iran’s attractive oil and gas industries, stronger cooperation is expected to come about between major Iranian and Italian companies.

“The Iranian petrochemical industry, as a vanguard in economic growth, is in dire need of investment and development,” Giardini said.

Corradini said that Italian companies are also willing to invest in Iranian small- and medium-sized downstream oil and gas industries.

He added that Italy enjoys technology in the small- and medium-sized industries and Italian companies want to enter talks with Iranians for sale of equipment and investment in the industry.

After Germany, Italy is Iran’s second major trade partner, and it seems that cooperation between the two countries in the petrochemical field is not an unattainable goal, said the Italian diplomat.

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