Akhundi said the two sides had reached agreement for cooperation of export guarantee and insurance funds of the two countries. He added that banks of the two sides have also announced readiness for financial and monetary cooperation.
He further remarked that Iran and Bulgaria agreed on joint cooperation in the field of trade of high quality tobacco and on operation of a multi-dimensional transportation corridor from the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea.
The Iranian minister noted that development of overall cooperation between Iran and Bulgaria shows that the two countries attach great importance to the expansion of their relations.
Meanwhile, the Bulgarian minister said in the bilateral talks effective steps have been taken for the expansion of ties with Iran and assured that in the future bilateral relations will further strengthen.
He pointed to some of the remaining issues between the two countries which he said are due to be followed up in joint meetings in Bulgaria in the next three months in order to reach positive results in the overall expansion of relations.
Annual volume of trade between Iran and Bulgaria stands at $150 million which the two sides agreed to increase several folds in future.

Timothy.W.D.Tesso, heading a trade delegation of top companies of Taiwan, travelled to Iran to investigate investment and presence in Iranian markets.

Tesso told IRNA that representatives of companies such as Asus, Micro-Star International Co ( MSI), Gigatech Comuter Inc. have big markets in Europe and South Asia.

He said that bilateral trade volume between Iran and Taiwan was about $2.8b in 2005 which increased with a rising trend to $5.6b in 2008.

Unfortunately, limitations due to sanctions caused bilateral trade to $1.8b in 2013 and $1.3b in 2014 , he added.

He noted that the imports from Iran mostly consisted of oil products, car parts, industrial machines, IT and communication products.

Exhibition Department of Taiwan External Trade Development Council, Shahan Woo told IRNA that ninety companies which came to Iran are active in making car parts, construction materials, information and communication technology, machinery, plastic products and home appliances.

He said that top companies of Taiwan in IT and communication field are regarded as the most competitive ones in the world and that in machinery sector Taiwan ranked fifth in the world.

This is not an unattainable target in the light of the fact that the country’s provinces boast 19 tourist attractions, which are registered on the UNESCO list of world heritage sites, in addition to thousands of natural and historical tourist attractions.
Although, international sanctions and Western media’s negative propaganda have adversely impacted Iran’s tourism industry in the past few years, the irresistible attractiveness of the country’s tourist resorts have always lured foreign tourists to the country even during the years of stringent embargoes.
In addition to the large number of tourists currently flocking to Iran’s historical and natural sites, scores of political and trade delegations are, at present, being provided accommodation at the country’s top hotels as well as facilities for holding meetings with Iranian counterparts, thanks to the removal of the sanctions.
Although Iranian provinces are equipped with favorable tourism infrastructures, it is a herculean task to address the needs of the increasing number of tourists that have, all of a sudden, decided to visit the country.
With the growing enthusiasm of foreign tourists to visit Iran, travel agencies have encountered daunting challenges in lodging them or reserving hotel rooms for them.
To tackle this challenge, Iranian officials plan to convert historical houses into tourist lodgings and build hotels in joint ventures with foreign investors.
A large number of foreign investment delegations have visited Iran over the past few months for talks in this respect. Due to Spain’s considerable experience in the tourism sector, the officials of Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization attach great importance to expanding cooperation with the country.
This is while, in light of Iran’s huge tourism potentials, Spain has decided to seize this opportunity and voiced willingness to participate in the construction of hotels in the Middle Eastern country.
A little while has elapsed since the visit to Iran by Spanish Minister of Industry, Energy, and Tourism José Manuel Soria López and significant steps have been taken by both sides to forge favorable ties in this respect. Spain has signed a contract with Iran to build a five-star hotel in Mazandaran Province by the end of 2017. This will be the first part of a project by Spain to construct a hotel chain in Iran.
During his visit, López voiced his country’s willingness to construct 300 hotels in Iran. Meliá Hotels InternationalGroup is the Spanish company responsible for building the hotels.
Commenting on the project in an exclusive interview with Iran Daily, Maria Zarraluqui, the global development managing director of Meliá Hotels International Group, said Iran is a very exciting country with huge tourism potentials and a large number of tourist attractions.
“This made us absolutely determined to initiate the project in the country. We believe that Iran’s tourism potentials as well as Iranian’s rich culture will bring a large number of tourists to the country in near future.”
She added given the removal of the sanctions, the ground is fully prepared for initiating the mutual cooperation.
Commenting on the number of Iranian tourists visiting Spain each year, Zarraluqui said, “I do not know the exact figure. All I know is that Iranians constitute a significant percentage of tourists to Spain.”
She noted that the Spanish people know a great deal about the Iranians and the country’s tourist attractions, adding perhaps, they constitute a significant number of tourists to Iran.
“Following the launching of the first phase of our chain hotels in Mazandaran Province, we plan to construct hotels in other Iranian provinces such as East Azarbaijan, Tehran, Gilan, Khorasan Razavi and Isfahan.”
Regional tourism hub
Speaking on the sidelines of the ceremony to sign the agreement between Iran and Spanish company for constructing the hotels, Carlos Aragon Gil de la Serna, the deputy head of the mission at the Spanish Embassy in Tehran, said Iran is capable of turning into a regional tourism hub in the near future.
“He added relations between Iran and Europe are at their peak. Following the July 14 nuclear accord between the country and P5+1, ties are strengthening.”
Iran is interested in competing with its international rivals in the field of tourism and constructing quality hotels across its provinces, Serna stressed, adding the country would soon turn into the region’s main trade and tourism destination.
“Our aim is to increase our trade volume with Iran in the coming years.”
According to the envoy, international investors are interested in business with Iran in various sectors including tourism.
Serna further described the construction of qualified hotels as an essential requirement for investment in tourism industry.
The envoy further said Iran’s ties with the EU have improved since President Hassan Rouhani assumed office in 2013.
Hotels for all social classes
In another exclusive interview with Iran Daily, Sirous Etemadi, a member of the Iranian Tour Operator Association, put the annual number of tourists visiting Iran at 4.5 million, adding, efforts are underway to increase the figure to more than 20 million by 2025.
He said due to the row between Turkey and Russia, there is growing probability that Iran would replace Turkey as a destination for Russian tourists.
Etemadi added, “Given its high tourism capacities, Iran will soon turn into a regional tourism hub. A tsunami of tourists is headed for Iran.”
He further underline that the country faces a serious challenge in providing accommodation for the growing number of tourists.
The head of Iran Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization, Masoud Soltanifar, he said has predicted that Iran is required to increase the number of its five- and four-star hotels to 400 in the next 10 years.
“There are about 1,100 hotels across the country, of which only 130 are four- and five-star. Although we are required to build luxury hotels, we should not forget about other [low-income] classes of our tourists.”
He stressed that in addition to being a regional tourism hub, Iran is an important scientific center.
A large number of university students visit the country annually to carry out their research activities, Etemadi said, adding they need cheap but clean lodgings.
Tourism industry fetched Iran about at least $6.1 billion during the year to mid-March 2015.
Source: Iran Daily

Karegar told IRNA on the sidelines of the carpet exhibition in Bushehr that two-thirds of woven-carpets in the country are being exported.
He said that 4,000 tons of hand-woven carpets worth more than 230 million dollars have been exported in the past 10 years.
He predicted that hand-woven carpet export will enjoy a boom in the next Iranian year by reopening of the US market due to lifting the sanctions.
In spite of reduction in export due to the sanctions, Iran still has the highest ranking in hand-woven carpet trade among rivals from China, Pakistan, India and Turkey.
He said currently around one million persons are weaving different types of carpets in Iran.

Addressing a meeting with a number of Chinese private sector investors to review the priorities of economic activities in Bushehr, he said with respect to the considerable capacity of the province in the marine and coastal sector, tourism in this sector is of top priority.
He also mentioned that Bushehr enjoys a special status in fisheries and aquaculture, and 60 percent of the farmed shrimp in the country is produced in the province.
Salari stressed that the shrimps produced in Bushehr are among the high quality ones in the world.
The governor general said the province has over 900 km of marine border with the Persian Gulf and this provides an important opportunity for investment in various sectors including aquaculture.
Enumerating the capacities of the province with respect to production of pharmaceutical herbs, he said investment in production of pharmaceutical herbs including Aloe Vera is among other investment priorities of Bushehr.
Salari also laid emphasis on the mineral capacities of the province saying that there are good potentials for development of mineral products processing industries. He added that investment in this field will be supported.
The governor general referred to date products processing industries and downstream petrochemical industries among other potentials of the province for investment.
Since it is a coast province, he said, it has easy access to other parts of the world. He noted that necessary grounds for export activities are prepared in the area.

He made the remark in a meeting with Khorassan Razavi Governor General Alireza Rashidian.
Domagalski, who arrived here Saturday heading an economic delegation, added that investors from the province are also welcome in his country.
Referring to historical ties between the two nations, he laid emphasis on expansion of economic relations and upgrading of the level of mutual cultural exchanges.
He said that during his visit, expansion of relations and economic interactions will be followed up both with Tehran and other Iranian provinces including Khorassan Razavi.
Domagalski added that Khorassan Razavi and its provincial capital are among the largest industrial centers in Iran with appropriate rail, air and road infrastructure.
The deputy minister noted that Warsaw is ready to make investment in Iran and in return welcomes Iranian investors in general and those of Khorassan in particular.
Referring to Poland’s potentials in the areas of foodstuff industries and machinery including car manufacturing and agriculture, he voiced his country’s readiness for joint cooperation.
Stressing promotion of cooperation with Poland, Khorassan Razavi Governor General said bilateral economic, commercial, agricultural and industrial relations can serve as a good source for more desirable relations.
Rashidian referred to the considerable potential of the province in the field of technical and engineering services export with regards to the needs of the Central Asian and Afghan markets and stressed bilateral cooperation in this field.
He said the two countries can expand their cooperation in cultural and university fields thanks to the existence of 320 university units and 350,000 students in the province.

Turning to the need for improvement of irrigation systems, harvest patterns and processing of products, he said these serve as grounds for using Polish technology and capabilities.

Speaking in the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture here on Monday, he said that Slovakia can assist Iran to increase nuclear energy higher utility.
He also voiced his country’s readiness to have cooperation with Iran in manufacturing of cars.
Hudak welcomed removal of sanctions against Iran and added that considerable opportunities for bilateral cooperation have emerged.
Chairman of the Tehran Chamber Masoud Khuwansari said that Iran needs 50 billion dollars of investment during the Sixth Development Plan (2016-2021) and invited Slovak companies to take action in this regard.
‘Joint venture and long-term investment are preferred by the government and public sector,’ he said and suggested banking ties between the two countries.

Speaking in a meeting here to discuss ways of accelerating non-oil exports, Mahdi Mohtashami said on Monday that $5b of this investment has been implemented with the activation of the line of credit (LOC) to create rail infrastructures an example of which is the electrification of Garmsar- Incheh Borun railway project.

Mohtashami added that the amount of import in Russia is $500b in current situation and regarding sanctions imposed on Russia by Western countries and its conflict with Turkey, Iran would be able to find a good substitute.

On issuing exports certificates to Russia for nineteen Iranian companies, Mohtashami said that based on the bilateral agreements between Iran and Russia, these companies will be able to export products such as dairy, chicken, meat and other products to Russia.

Regarding the Green Corridor with exports target countries, he said that lifting sanctions created a ground for Iran to reinforce joint commissions with sixty other exports target countries.

He mentioned Turkey, Russia and Azerbaijan as countries with which agreements on creating Corridor has been signed.

Based on Green Corridor agreement between Iran and Russia which was inked during a trip by Vice President of Federal Customs Service of Russia to Tehran, Russia put clearance of Iranian Perishable agricultural products into action.

Furthermore Iranian products will be placed in Russia Green Corridor and Iran would be responsible for sending information and customs value of these products.

On facilitating the issuance of Russia trade visas, he said that Iran-Russia Joint Commissions announced visa facilitation agreement as the most important one saying that the least amount of time to travel to Russia was ninety days in the past which will be reduced as a result of this agreement.

On shifting Russian transit products from Turkey to Iran, he said that regarding the conflict between Russia and Turkey, Moscow is willing to shift $20b-transit of its export products to Iran.

On issuing foreign banks permits in Iran, he reiterated that the permit for launching Russia, Azerbaijan and Turkey’s banks in Iran have been issued.

Creating Iran-Azerbaijan joint bank is regarded as another program of developing financial relations with trade target countries.

Iran has Joint Economic Commissions with sixty target countries.

Ministry of Communications and Information Technology is in charge of heading Iran’s joint economic commissions with Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, UAE, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.

The major oil producer’s economy is still struggling and growth is close to zero but many investors are betting that restoring Iran’s links with the world and attracting foreign capital and technology will trigger a long-term economic boom, Reuters reported.
‘Iran’s economic growth slowed down in 2015 but domestic and international predictions both indicate that growth in 2016 would be beyond five percent,’ central bank chief Valiollah Seif said.
In January, world powers led by the United States and the European Union lifted sanctions on the country. The subsequent leap in Tehran’s stock market in late January and early February gave a hint of the country’s investment potential.
But President Hassan Rouhani said last month that his country needed 8 percent economic growth in order to deal with inflation and unemployment, both of which stand above 10 percent.
Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian said on Thursday Iran is implementing a development plan aiming for yearly growth of 8 percent.

The Bulgarians are to participate in the Seminar of Opportunities of Trade, Industry and Investment as their Iranian counterparts will also take part in the event.
He added that Bulgarian representatives active in the mining, renewable energy, tourism, banking, counseling, information technology, agricultural, technical and engineering services are to be present in the meeting.
Koudei said the TPO has invited Iranian companies to talk with the other party and ‘I predict that more than 100 Iranian companies will be present in the seminar.’
The official predicted that with the meeting and agreements to be reached, attraction of investment and commercial relations between the two countries will increase.