Iran-Czech Ties to Widen Economic Areas

The MoU was signed between Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO) and the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade on Sunday. 

The IDRO was represented by its Executive Board Chairman Mohammad Baqer Ali who signed the agreement with Czech Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Eduard Muřický in Tehran. 

The MoU will pave the way for creation of a working group between the two countries. 

The two officials agreed to use the maximum potential of both sides government and private sectors in auto-making, rail transport, new technologies as well as energy industries. 

The MoU also calls for launching of Iran-Czech joint-venture companies to boost industrial investment opportunities and renovate the industrial and manufacturing process-shipbuilding.

The IDRO's head of executive board, who is also deputy minister of industry, mine and trade, also urged that the two governments to facilitate effective communication between their Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). 

On Tuesday, in the opening ceremony of Iran-Czech economic commission meeting in Tehran, Iranian Deputy Economy Minister Seyed Ali Mohammad Mousavi said that Tehran and Prague will study expansion of banking cooperation and investment opportunities in areas of industry, mine, commerce, health and treatment in a bid to further bolster economic ties.

Mousavi said that Iran and Czech are to study expansion of banking cooperation, investment opportunity, industry, mine, commerce, health and treatment in the upcoming meeting of the Iran-Czech joint economic cooperation commission.

He also called for expansion of mutual economic cooperation, bolstering cooperation between the two sides' private sectors mainly in industry and rendering services.

The two sides examined various issues ranging from banking to investment opportunities and easing visa issuance between the two countries in the meeting.

Muřický, for his part in the meeting, highlighted good political and economic relations and cooperation between the two countries and called for further expansion of cooperation in these fields. 

There are many companies mainly in the energy sector who mind to broaden cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran, Muřický said. 

In April 2018, The Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic supported a plan to lift a ban on the export of equipment to the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran.

The decision by the Czech parliament came after the online Czech newspaper 'Prague Daily Monitor' wrote that continuation of the ban on transfer of equipment to Bushehr nuclear power plant would prevent normalization of relations between Tehran and Prague that is detrimental to Czech exports.

The Czech Communist Party had tried since 2009 to have the 18-year-long ban on export of equipment to Iran lifted. In 2016, the Communist Party tried again to get the ban removed.

The Czech company ZVVZ Milevsko planned to deliver ventilation equipment to Bushehr nuclear power plant and for this reason the Communist Party had proposed that all restrictions and obstacles facing the company be removed.

The issue was raised at a Czech Cabinet session in March 2018 but the Prague government adopted a neutralized stance. Some persons and groups believe that the reason for this is that the Czech government is afraid of harming its relations with some of its allies, including the US, if it agrees to lift the ban.

However, it seems that the Czech Chamber of Deputies decided to follow the country's foreign policy principles independent from the US.

The former coalition government of the Czech Republic tried to lift the ban in 2017, but the parliament blocked its move. The Czech foreign ministry supports the plan to lift the restrictions on export of equipment to Bushehr power plant.