He made the remarks in a meeting with Lebanese Minister of Industry Hussein al-Hajj Hassan.

Akhoundi called for formation of a joint investment fund.

Akhoundi said that Iran is ready to hold the next session of the Iran-Lebanon Joint Economic Committee session.

The Iranian minister said that the Lebanese government is willing to speed up preparatory works for general agreement on preferential trade tariffs.

Akhoundi said that as the Iranian co-chairman of the Joint Committee, he will absolutely follow up the issue through Minister of Industries and Mines so that the list of the goods that should be put in the preferential tariff agreement will be soon filled up.

‘We are ready to set up joint investment fund so as to launch joint investment in the air, maritime, highway, urban development and stock market domains. In line with promotion of cooperation, direct Beirut-Mashad and Beirut-Tehran flights should be launched and promoting Beirut-Shiraz flight as well.

Iran-Lebanon trade stood at about 115 million last year and the two countries try to promote joint cooperation committee to boost trade.

The MoU was signed by South Korean Minister of Science, ICT and Future Planning Choi Yang-hee and Iranian Minister of Communication and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi on Wednesday.

The two countries signed such MoU in year 1990 for the first time. However, following lifting the sanctions and implementation of the nuclear deal (JCPOA), the two sides called for long-term partnership and economic cooperation.

Iran and South Korea formed joint science and technology committee in 2004, but, its activities were not satisfactory. South Korea voiced interest in activating the committee.

South Korean has called for implementation of the MoUs already signed during visit of President Park Geun-hye to Tehran last April.

Mahmoud Vaezi is currently on a visit to Seoul, South Korea. He visited several IT centers in Seoul.

Zarif and Diaz in a meeting on Monday evening discussed ways of development of cooperation between Tehran and Havana in fields of energy, banking, health, nanotechnology and biotechnology.

During the meeting, Cuban minister of foreign trade and investment said that Havana is keen to develop relations with Tehran as a lasting partner and friend.

Cuba is ready to help facilitate development of cooperation between Islamic Republic and the Latin American states, he added.

Iran and Cuba on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding to boost their economic cooperation. The cooperation document was signed on the sidelines of the first joint trade meeting of Iran and Cuba.

Heading a 120-member delegation, Zarif arrived in Cuba on Sunday night on the first leg of his Latin American tour.

He will travel to Nicaragua, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia and Venezuela, respectively after visiting Cuba and during his week-long tour.

Iranian foreign minister will stay in one country each day and hold talks with senior officials of the six countries on his itinerary.

The cooperation document was signed on the sidelines of the first joint trade meeting of Iran and Cuba in the presence of Cuban and Iranian officials and businessmen, including the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz.

Iran Chamber of Commerce Deputy of International Affairs Farhad Sharif and his Cuban counterpart Odalys Seijo Garcia signed the MoU.

Heading a 120-member delegation, Zarif arrived in Cuba on Sunday night on the first leg of his Latin American tour.

He will travel to Nicaragua, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia and Venezuela, respectively after visiting Cuba and during his week-long tour.

Zarif’s visit is aimed at fostering Iran’s political and economic relations with Latin American countries after the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action and removal of sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Iranian foreign minister will stay in one country each day and hold talks with senior officials of the six countries on his itinerary.

Iran attaches great importance to expansion of all-out cooperation with the Latin American countries.

The MoU was signed between Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line (IRISL)and Norway’s Skuld P&I Company on different kinds of sea insurances.

The MoU also covers the complaints in relation to sea insurance, training of personnel and upgrading knowledge and capabilities of the Iranian experts.

Norway’s Skuld insurance company was established in 1897 and operates by two subsidiaries named Skuld Offshore and Skuld Hull.

Skuld Insurance Company has 250 representative offices worldwide.

The ambassador made the remarks in a meeting with Governor General of Qazvin province Fereydoun Hemmati.

Whitehead said that the two countries can share experience in science and technology, agriculture, car manufacturing, renewable energies and hotel construction.

He termed relations between Tehran and Pretoria as sincere, saying that in addition to diplomatic and political relations, the two countries may have extensive economic cooperation as well.

Whitehead called Iran as gate to Central Asia, saying that his country is interested to expand cooperation with Iran in different fields and there is no obstacle in this concern.

He called for scientific cooperation between Qazvin and South African universities and said that Qazvin knowledge-based companies would be good partners for their South African counterparts in different fields of science and research.

Hemmati explained existing economic capacities of the province in the fields of agriculture and industry and said that Qazvin is one of important hubs in the two sectors in Iran.

He said that Qazvin is the fifth industrial province of Iran and the first industrial township was launched in this province.

Hemmati said that following nuclear deal and implementation of JCPOA, foreigners came to the province for investment in sectors of industry and agriculture.

He said that Qazvin economic activists and their counterparts from South Africa may have good cooperation in auto-making, hotel construction, tourist sites and renewable energies.

Representatives of the South Korean company met with local officials in the city to sign the deal for construction of the solar power plant.

Spokesman of Aran va Bidgol city council Abolfazl Moeeninejad said they will allocate land for construction of the power plant to be accomplished within three months.

Over 320 days in the city is sunny encouraging the South Korean company to conduct feasibility study on the project which is to be kicked off in the near future, he said.

The solar power plant is to generate 100 megawatt electricity with 25 years guarantee of the South Korean company and after six years it will be handed over to the Iranian partner.

Moussavi said new oil contracts will cause development of Iranian giant oil industry.
The official said once the new oil contracts have been enforced, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) will have a free hand to choose the best worldwide active in the field of petroleum and senior oil directors will identify with full information the areas needing to undergo development.
Moussavi said oil is one of the most important fields in the Economy of Resistance policy.
After implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in January, export of oil rose to 2.1 million barrels per day in July from one million barrels.
As the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced a report on January 16 that Iran had fulfilled its JCPOA obligations, the G5+1 followed suit and based on its obligation, lifted the anti-Iran sanctions over the nuclear issue.

Speaking in a local ceremony in this central provincial city, Kargar said that Iran exports handmade carpet to 80 countries, mostly to US.

Export of Iran’s handwoven carpets worth of 80 million dollars per year has been cut for five years due to sanctions but resumed after the landmark nuclear deal in 2015 also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the official added.

He said during the past four months, Iran has exported 1,430 tons of handmade carpets earning 83 million dollars.

India and Pakistan tried to take Iran’s place in the US carpet market while Iran was sanctioned in the pre-JCPOA era, but Americans prefer Iranian brand due to its high quality, Kargar said noting that exports of the Iranian hand-woven exports can increase in the near future with relentless efforts and proper advertisement.