Caspian News | Orkhan Jalilov: Italy and Iran have signed a memorandum of understanding worth �5 billion that will allow Italian companies to make financial investments in Iran.

Two Iranian banks, namely Khavar Mianeh (Middle East) Bank and Sanat va Madan Bank (Bank of Industry and Mine), signed a credit agreement in Rome on January 11 with the Italian state-owned Invitalia, in the presence of Italy�s Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan and Iran�s Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Mohammad Khazaei.

According to the deal, Invitalia will lend �5 billion ($6.1 billion) to the Iranian banks, which will in turn support Italian investments in Iran. The agreement also envisages the joining of other banks to the deal, and the funds will be used for joint projects between Italian and Iranian companies in sectors including infrastructure, construction, oil and gas, electrical energy, and the chemical, petrochemical, and metallurgical industries.
�It is Iran's biggest lending agreement that has ever been signed with a European country, and in that situation, it is a very important political and economic event, indicating the EU's serious determination to collaborate with Iran,� Khazaei, who is also head of Iran�s Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance Organization told�IRNA news agency�on January 11.
Italy is Iran�s major trading partner in the European Union. According to the EU�s statistical agency, Eurostat, Italy was the main export destination for Iranian products in 2017, with over �2.58 billion ($3.17 billion) worth of purchases from January 1 to October 31, 2017. That figure represents a 315 percent increase compared to the same period in 2016.

Italy was the EU�s second biggest exporter to Iran, after Germany, having sold �1.38 billion ($1.69 billion) worth of commodities to Iran, according to Iran Front Page.

Deals between Iran and Italy seem to have taken off ever since the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the �nuclear deal�, between six world powers and Iran in the summer of 2015.

In June 2017, Italy's energy giant Eni signed a deal with the National Iranian Oil Company to carry out initial studies for the development of oil and gas fields in Iran. The Iranian and Italian state railways also signed an agreement, worth $1.3 billion, to build a high-speed, 135 km-long (84 mi) railway line in central Iran.

The Italian electricity and gas distributor Enel, oil contractor Saipem, steel firm Danieli, infrastructure firm Condotte d'Acqua, rail and road company Gavio, and airplane manufacturer Finmeccanica are all companies that have big ticket investment plans in Iran.

During Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's visit to Rome in January 2016, officials from the two countries signed deals worth about �17 billion ($21 billion), including a �5.7 billion ($7 billion) agreement with Italian metal industry firm Danieli to supply heavy machinery and equipment to Iran as well as a �3.5 ($4.3 billion) contract with Italian oil and gas contractor Saipem, through which the Italian company will upgrade the Shiraz and Tabriz oil refineries in Iran.