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 seek to promote cooperation in agricultural technology and look for 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 world’s 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.

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

Iran plans to invest some $185 billion in its oil and gas sector over the next decade, and the former SNP leader seeks to win 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 country’s massive oil industry.

Iranian officials have welcomed foreign 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