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NewsIran to host biggest international conference on mines and mineral industries

Iran to host biggest international conference on mines and mineral industries

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2016/01/05Date:

Iran's deputy minister of industry, mine and trade says the country will host the biggest international conference on mines and mineral industries to be attended by companies from 27 countries. Speaking to Iranian and foreign reporters on Wednesday, Mehdi Karbasian said that 284 domestic companies will be also present in the conference, during which more than 200 mineral projects ready for investment will be presented.
Karbasian, who also heads the board of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), added that the conference will be attended by foreign companies from 27 countries, including Germany, Sweden, Finland, China, India, Japan and Canada.
The official said the number of registered participants of the conference reached 821 on Tuesday, including 73 senior managers of well-known international companies.
Noting that the number of foreign companies taking part in the conference proves ineffectiveness of international sanctions imposed on Iran, Karbasian said, “The main loser of sanctions against Iran are European countries because some of them, such as Germany, enjoyed a high share in Iran's trade exchanges” before complying with US-engineered sanctions against Tehran.
He said the Islamic Republic of Iran has been grappling with sanctions for the past 35 years but has never gone back on its principled positions.
The sanctions were imposed against Iran by the US and European Union at the beginning of 2012 claiming that there is a military aspect to Iran's peaceful nuclear program; an allegation Iran categorically rejected.
The Islamic Republic and the P5+1 group of countries – the US, the UK, France, Germany, Russia and China – reached an interim agreement on Iran's nuclear program in the Swiss city of Geneva last November, which was followed by a statement of mutual understanding in the Swiss city of Lausanne on April 2. The Lausanne statement is considered a prelude to the achievement of a comprehensive deal before a self-designated deadline at the end of June. A key point of the statement was a promise to lift a series of economic sanctions imposed on Iran.
Karbasian stated that Iran's known mineral reserves amount to 57 billion tonnes, and the figure is expected to increase by 40-50 percent through further prospecting activities.
“The most important topic to be discussed at the conference is the mineral sector and its role in creating new jobs and helping development of the country,” he said.
According to Karbasian, respective shares of mines and mineral industries in the country’s gross domestic product stand at one and 5 percent.