23 Nov 2024
Sunday 18 October 2015 - 10:49
Story Code : 184756

Iran opening is bittersweet for Scotland

Iran opening is bittersweet for Scotland
Scottish National Party (SNP)s Alex Salmond says he will be leading a delegation of business leaders to Tehran shortly in search of trade opportunities.

They will seekto promote cooperation in agricultural technology and lookfor openings in the fields of education and digital technology among other areas.

Like many other European leaders, Salmond is excited by the prospects of new business in the worlds last untapped emerging market in the wake of a nuclear accord which Iran clinched in July.

"This is not just a good opportunity. It's an unambiguously a great one. Scotland has much to offer. Benefits can flow both directions," he told an audience on the fringe of an SNP conference in Aberdeen.

Irans return to the international trade fold and the flow of its oil back to the market at pre-sanction levelsmight not be good news for Scotland given the countrys reliance on oil revenues but Salmond sees things in a different way.

Iran plans to investsome $185 billion inits oil and gas sector over the next decade, and the former SNP leader seeks towin a share of the pie.

"The oil industry here is an international one. The ability of Scottish-based companies depends on international prospects," SNP's foreign affairs spokesman said.

In August, senior executives from Scottish-based oil services firm Amec Foster Wheeler and industrial giant Weir Group accompanied British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on a visit to Iran.



[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"] Iran's Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh (R) meets with the visiting British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond in Tehran on August 23. Shana[/caption]

Scottish firms have a well-established portfolio in Iran, including in oil prospecting and developing the countrys massive oil industry.

Iranian officials have welcomedforeign investors, with special emphasis laid on the transfer of technology.

"Iranians know what's going on and what technology they want and need. You've got a huge workforce of highly educated people who can easily be trained up," Chief Executive of Aubin Group Paddy Collins told BBC.

"The key thing is transfer of technology, Iranians want that with every major project," said president of Franco-Iranian economic exchange group Cercle Iran Economie Nigel Coulthard.

By Press TV
https://theiranproject.com/vdcamyn6i49na01.tgk4.html
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