South Korean government officials, flanked by public and private companies, have travelled to Iran to seek oil and gas deals in the wake of the lifting of sanctions against the fourth largest oil producing country in the world.
Through the talks, South Korea, once one of Iran’ chief trade partners, will resurrect trade deals with the emerging Iranian republic.
Officials from South Korea, who include the country’s deputy minister in charge of trade Woo Tae-hee, are in Tehran to discuss a wide variety of possible trade deals between the two countries. A statement from the South Korean government said the minister, together with officials from various oil, gas and construction companies, had travelled to the Islamic country on Sunday and Monday.
South Korea’s minister for Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Yoo Il-ho, has already visited Iran. The increased delegation of South Korean officials in the country has caused interest from both political and business circles by sheer regard of the magnitude of trade deals that could be signed.
Iran, an OPEC member, has the largest gas reserves in the world and is the fourth largest in terms of oil reserves in the world. Government officials have stated they are committing to gas and oil projects worth $185 billion by 2020.
A statement from the South Korean ministry of trade stated, “We plan to highlight the capability of our firms for major projects with which the Iranian government seeks to rebuild infrastructure, diversify industries and develop energy fields in the post-sanctions era.”
After negotiations with six of the world’s major powers including the U.S., Russia, Britain, Germany, France and China, that ended on July 14th, it was announced that crippling sanctions on Iran were ending in return for the country limiting their nuclear program.
In addition, billions of dollars in economic relief would be granted to the country and multi-million dollar trade partnerships renewed. Nuclear inspectors must, however, inspect the country’s nuclear program and confirm that they are complying with the terms of deal.
Sanctions against the country will be officially end next year.
Officials from South Korea’s ministry of energy said of the talks, “The delegation will discuss possible deals and continue talks in the second half of this year, as we need to prepare for actual business deals to be made next year.”
Following the lifting of sanctions against Iran, the country is set to bounce back into the oil and gas international market in a grand manner. Through new trade deals with foreign partners fostering increased investment in the country’s infrastructure, Iran’s full potential can be reached and its people more fulfilled.
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