Indian Investors Lured by Iran's Petchem Industry


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An Indian delegation visited Iran in pursuit of investment opportunities in the country's lucrative petrochemical industry, as the prospects of a final nuclear deal between Iran and world powers look brighter than ever.

The Indian team held a meeting with top managers of Iran's National Petrochemical Company (NPC) on Saturday to learn about conditions for investment.

The business talks were held after Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said Tehran has drawn up petrochemical plans worth $75 billion, noting that implementation of those plans would be financed by foreign investors.

While Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) are in talks to clinch a historic agreement on Tehran's nuclear energy program, a host of foreign countries are vying for Iran's market when sanctions are terminated under the long-awaited deal.

In their latest round of talks on April 2, Iran and the Group 5+1 (also known as the P5+1 or E3+3) reached a framework nuclear agreement after more than a week of intensive negotiations in Lausanne, Switzerland, with both sides committed to push for a final, comprehensive accord until the end of June.

The framework provides a series of solutions that will be the basis of a comprehensive joint plan of action.

According to the Lausanne statement, "the EU will terminate the implementation of all nuclear-related economic and financial sanctions and the US will cease the application of all nuclear-related secondary economic and financial sanctions, simultaneously with the IAEA-verified implementation by Iran of its key nuclear commitments."