Baku, Azerbaijan, April 28
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iran plans to import 200,000 tons of rail tracks from India.
Abbas Nazari, director of international affairs at the Iranian Railways Company, said officials of India's STC will come to Iran next week to pave the way for selling 200,000 tons of rail tracks, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported on April 28.
On April 20, the Indian Express reported that with the Western nations easing sanctions on Iran, India's biggest steel maker SAIL is all set to sign a definitive agreement to help Tehran set up a railway network project spanning over 15,000 km to connect its major ports and key production centers.
Khaleel Rahim, chairman of state-owned trading firm State Trading Corporation (STC) is slated to visitTehran to finalize some of the formalities that could pave the way for steel exports from India.
Iran had sought Indian investment in massively expanding its railway network and needs about 3 million tonnes of steel rails to connect all major cities, industrial centers and also ports for faster evacuation of goods.
Last year, Washington had eased sanctions on Iran, which has enabled Indian companies to explore investment options. The Indian commerce ministry officials had in December last year, met the top brass of SAIL, BHEL and railway infrastructure builder IRCON to consider investing in Iran.
India-Iran trade is expected to cross the $20-billion mark in FY14, up from $15 billion in FY13. India's exports to Iran include rice, metals, machinery and instruments, primary and semi finished iron and steel, drugs and pharmaceuticals, processed minerals, manmade yarn and fabrics, tea and rubber manufactured items. Imports from Iran include crude oil, urea, petroleum products, saffron and dry fruits.
Edited by C.N.
