Financial Tribune - Major Iranian automotive companies and 32 parts makers from the private sector signed a $60 million deal on Saturday to curb the auto industry’s reliance on foreign suppliers.

During an event held on Saturday at Tehran’s International Exhibition Center, which was attended by Industries Minister Reza Rahmani and other officials, Iran Khodro (IKCO) and SAIPA agreed to a deal worth 7.4 trillion rials ($60 million) with 32 small- and medium-sized parts makers to promote auto localization, IRNA reported.

On the sidelines of the ceremony, government officials and the respective heads of IKCO and SAIPA— Hashem Yekezare and Mir Javad Soleimani—and managers of local parts makers discussed ways of indigenizing key auto parts.