The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the Berne Union Meeting which is underway in Lisbon, Portugal.

The agreement envisaged cooperation on economic, trade, banking ties, reinsurance coverage, joint insurance and training.

Managing Director of EGFI Kamal Seyed Ali said that after the implementation of JCPOA, representatives of the export guarantee funds of the European states visited Iran and expressed interest in implementing the related projects and financial services.

In the wake of the post-JCPOA cooperation, EGFI’s exports and investment credits coverage enjoyed 42 percent growth.

It stood at $265m during the first four months of the current Iranian year (began on March 20).

In a statement released on Monday, the ministry said that Council Regulating (EU) 267/2012 (‘the Regulation’) imposing financial sanctions against Iran has amended so that an asset freeze no longer applies to BSI and Bank Saderat PLC.

The amending Regulation amended the listings of Bank Saderat Iran and Bank Saderat PLC so that they would remain in force until October 22, 2016, the statement said, adding that as that date has now passed, Bank Saderat Iran and Bank Saderat PLC are no longer subject to the restrictive measures set out in the Regulation, including the asset freeze.

A copy of the Amending Regulation can be obtained from the website of the Official Journal of the European Union.

Maersk, major Denmark container shipping company, has a record of operation at Iranian ports before sanctions, and a big share of container shipping in Iran.

The talks were held by Governor of Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Valiollah Seif and Managing Director of Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Ravi Menon.

Since international banks do not have enough knowledge about Iranian banks’ activities, they are worried about the risk of relations with Iran’s banking network, Seif said during the talks while referring to the country’s banking activities which are under international regulations and standards.

He further suggested that CBI and MAS constructively interact in order to remove those worries.

Menon, for his part, said MAS is ready to resume banking cooperation with Iran.

Singapore just follows the United Nations’ resolutions not the other sanctions including those imposed by the US Treasury Department, said Menon.

Anti-Iran sanctions were lifted on January 16, 2016, but the US Treasury Department in its new guidance published on October 7, said that some previously prohibited dollar transactions with Iran by offshore banking institutions are allowed as long as they do not enter the US financial system.

The Singaporean official further called for holding more banking meetings between the two countries to remove the ambiguities and boost constructive ties.

On January 28, 2016, Singapore cancelled 2012 prohibition on transactions with the Iranian government and with Iranian financial institutions.

Along with the French oil and gas company of Total, several companies from Russia and China have requested presence in that development projects, Ali Kardor said.

Kardor added that phase 11 of the South Pars will be finalized within next months.

The development project on the South Pars phase 11 had been pending for eight years before the new Iranian government took office in August, 2013, and started organizing the project and completely developing the pending gas projects in the South Pars gas field.

After the July 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the international oil companies headed for Iran to hold talks on the oil industry with the Iranian officials.

Kardor said that the presence of Total in South Pars is not certain, adding several foreign companies have expressed willingness to cooperate with Iran in the phase 11 development project, but their presence is not certain and definite.

The aim of finalization of the development project on the phase 11 South Pars is to daily produce two billion cubic feet of gas.

South Pars is the world’s biggest gas field situated in the Persian Gulf and in the territorial waters of Iran and Qatar.

The South Pars gas field, which is named in Qatar as North Dome, is shared between the two countries.

‘Following the signing of the agreement, Total is going to participate in developing a lower olefin project which is going to cost at least two billion dollars,’ Adel Nejad Salim told the Islamic Republic News Agency in an exclusive interview.

Nejad Salim also said that the Persian Gulf Holding so far has signed seven memorandums of understanding with international companies, including the European companies like Total.

It is expected that, two agreements be finalized until the end of the current Iranian calendar year, he said.

‘One of them is going to be with Total,’ Nejad Salim said.

Managing Director of the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry said that the company is eager to absorb domestic and foreign investments.

Lower olefins are petrochemical derivatives produced by cracking feedstocks from raw materials such as natural gas and crude oil. The main olefin products are ethylene, propylene, butadiene and C4 derivatives.

These petrochemical derivatives are used to produce plastics, as chemical intermediates, and, in some cases, as industrial solvents.

Denmark’s Maersk that had cut its trade relations with Iran five years ago due to the sanctions imposed by the West on Iran will resume its activities soon.

Maersk announced on Thursday that its customers can send their cargo to Iran via sea by Maersk cargo ships.

A major portion of imports, including foodstuff and consumer goods such as cars, to Iran take place via sea.

Governor General of the Russian Omsk province Viktor Nazarov said that exchange of visits by officials and economic activists of the two provinces are expanding and Russia is ready to bolster ties with Iran.

He said that two economic delegations from Omsk province have visited Iran this year.

Minister of Economy of Omsk province Oxana Fadina said that the two provinces are willing to develop economic relations.

He said that trade between Omsk and Iran stood at 382,000 dollars over the past six months.

Fadina added that Omsk province is ready for cooperation and joint venture projects in the fields of petrochemical and oil with Kohgiluyeh & Buyer Ahmad province.

He said that there are grounds for cooperation on advanced technologies, hand-woven carpet, training courses, the wood and forest industries and health and medical treatment.

Minister of Agriculture and Food Industries of Omsk province Maxim Shokusouf said that Omsk is ready to import agricultural crops, vegetables and processed cereals from Kohgiluyeh & Buyer Ahmad.

He said that joint economic plans to develop cereals products and cereals silo as well as food products would be on agenda for cooperation.

Deputy Governor General for economic affairs Majid Mohanaei said that there are different economic capacities for cooperation between the two provinces.

He said that the province is rich for its botanical medicine as well as oil and gas resources.

The official said that Kohgiluyeh province is ready for joint venture projects with Russian province in the field of petrochemicals and completion of two petrochemical units in the province.

He said that the province has 10 percent of water resources of the country, so it is one of the areas for fish culture as well as creating gardens and construction of hydro-electric power plants.

The province has the potential capacity to export seven million roses, 2,000 tons summer crop and 11,000 tons trout fish to Russia annually.

Mohanaei said there are possibility to export cement and polyethylene pipes to Russia as well.

Head of Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization Masoud Soltanifar made the remarks in a meeting with the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Elabieta Bieńkowska.

He said that Iran is a museum country favored by the tourists.

Listing other tourism capacities of Iran in religious, natural and health sectors, Soltanifar said that climatic diversity allows the tourists to use ski and mineral warm waters in a single day.

He said that the number of tourists coming to Iran rose up 10 percent and that the figure for European tourists has increased by 30 percent.

Soltanifar said that Iran has so far set up 25 offices in target countries to introduce the country’s tourism attractions to other nations.

The official also said that signing cooperation deal by the EU and ICHHTO will pave the way for mutual cooperation in the tourism sector.

Bieńkowska, for her part, said that Iran is currently turning one of the European tourism destinations, noting that she is currently on a visit to Iran to pursue discussions made during EU Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini’s visit to Tehran.

‘One of our main economic activities is tourism which generates jobs and earns huge revenues,’ she said.