Iran Begins Exporting Petrochemical Products to UK

A consignment of Iran's petrochemical and polymer products was shipped to the UK. Other countries such as Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Italy and France have also shown interest to purchase Iran's petrochemical products. Before the imposition of the western sanctions against Iran, the European countries had accounted for about 13 percent of the country's export of petrochemical and polymeric products. Accordingly, Iran exported between $2 and $2.5 billion of its petrochemical products to the European countries every year. According to a former UK ambassador to Russia, British companies are very keen to forge economic relations with Iran. In a relevant development in February, a former US ambassador to Russia said that the UK business hopes to take advantage of the economic opportunities that Britain's re-engagement with Iran could bring. A thaw in UK-Iranian relations followed the signing of a historic nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers last July that lifted economic sanctions from the Islamic republic, allowing it to return to the global market. "We are very keen to get Iran to become a normal member of the international community and that includes building up economic relations. There are opportunities there for British companies and we are very keen to take advantage of them," Sir Tony Brenton said. Brenton, who served as ambassador to Russia from 2004 to 2008, said the outcome of the Iranian negotiations was a "huge success" for the international community, including Russia. A month after the nuclear deal was signed, the United Kingdom and Iran reopened their embassies in Tehran and London, respectively. They are now reportedly preparing to resume issuing visas next month. Source:Farsnews