Spanish companies are well positioned to take advantage of business opportunities in Iran

Spain – Iran match

The Exporters Club organized yesterday a day on the Persian market in collaboration with Cuatrecasas and an Iranian law firm

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El Government of Iran has announced a strategic investment plan for the next six years with a total budget of 360.000 billion dollars. Spanish companies are in a good position to take advantage, once the sanctions against Tehran are lifted, of the numerous business opportunities that will emerge in the country. This was made clear yesterday during a conference organized by the Club of Spanish Exporters and Investors, the office Cuatrecasas, Goncalves Pereira and the Iranian law firm Atieh Associates Law Firm.

 

 

The speakers at the meeting agreed on the great potential of the Persian market. With a population of 80 million and an abundance of natural resources such as oil, gas and minerals, Iran has a relatively diversified economy and has demonstrated a remarkable resilience to international sanctions. With the new investment plan, the country aims to grow at a rate of 8% per year and aims to become a bridge between Europe and Asia.

 

 

Leopoldo Stampa, former Spanish ambassador to Iran, said that the Iranian government is determined to integrate into the international community, receive foreign investment and assume a more relevant role within the Middle East region.

 

 

Balbino Prieto, president of the Spanish Exporters and Investors Club, highlighted the efforts made by Spanish companies in recent years to strengthen their international competitiveness and encouraged them to explore new markets such as Iran.

 

El Director General of International Trade and Investments of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Antonio Fernández-Martos, mentioned the business opportunities that are opening up for Spanish companies after the lifting of sanctions. Regarding infrastructure, there are numerous projects for the construction or modernisation of roads, railways, suburban railways, ports and airports. Other sectors with good business prospects are oil and gas, steel, the petrochemical industry, renewable energies, the automotive industry and tourism.

 

As regards diplomatic relations with Spain, Iran has always maintained very fluid contact, according to Manuel Gómez-Acebo, Director General for the Maghreb, Africa, the Mediterranean and the Middle East of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. In his opinion, the new Spanish government that emerges from the general elections in December has the challenge of “increasing and diversifying” its diplomatic relations with the Asian country.

 

Cyrus Shafizadeh, a partner at Atieh Associates Law Firm, said Iran has a legal framework that protects foreign investment, with a law prohibiting nationalizations and expropriations.

 

During the day, they also intervened Jorge Badía, general manager of Cuatrecasas, who highlighted Iran's progress in human development over the past 30 years, and Fernando Mínguez, a partner at the firm, who stressed the importance of good legal planning for the security of investments abroad.