Berlin, Jan 23, IRNA -- German companies are to benefit from the partial lifting of Iran sanctions, according to Lufthansa CEO Christoph Franz.Talking to Germany?s PHOENIX television network, Franz said, ?German industrial goods are in great demand in Iran.?
Lufthansa is to also benefit from this fact in the passenger as well as cargo section once the santions are eased step by step, he added.
Franz voiced ?great delight? over the political thaw with regards to Iran.
He pointed to a ?very positive development? in Iran which in turn would also have a ?positive impact? for Iran?s trade and economic partners.
German companies have repeatedly expressed great interest in the Iranian market following the lifting of some of the western sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program.
Germany?s business community has voiced serious concern that it was missing out on lucrative business deals with Iran.
The head of the Tehran-based German-Iranian Chamber of Industry and Commerce Daniel Bernbeck warned that Germany was to lose the Iranian market as other western investors were flocking to Tehran in the wake of the landmark November 24 Geneva nuclear accord.
While German trade competitors from countries like Italy, France and even the US are trying to enter Iran?s profitable energy and automobile sector, German companies stand to lose out on the multi-billion euro business contracts, according to Bernbeck.
For many years, Iran was the most important export market for Germany in the Middle East and North Africa, prior to the imposition of western sanctions.
Many Asian and European companies have already replaced German firms in the Iranian market in recent years.
More than 40,000 German jobs are indirectly affected by German-Iranian trade exchange, according to business insiders.
German exports to Iran are especially vital to mainly small and mid-size German companies that are the backbone of the country?s export strength.
By IRNA
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