Gredelj soon to sign an important contract in Iran.
The Iranian market is open for all goods and services after the removal of the UN sanctions, and many Croatian companies see their chance. Some might even sign lucrative agreements pretty soon, Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK) said in a statement released after the Iranian-Croatian economy forum held in Teheran, reports tportal.hr on May 19, 2016.
The gathering was a part of the visit by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović to Tehran, and it included about 70 Croatian and 150 Iranian businesspersons. “Iran has opened its doors widely for Croatian companies and we should use this opportunity. I am happy that Gredelj is about to sign a big business contract, and this is only the beginning. After the sanctions, this market is hungry for all kinds of goods and services, and it also represents an opportunity for collaboration for smaller companies, which is especially important”, said Luka Burilović, president of HGK, in his opening speech. Bearing in mind big infrastructure projects that are being planned in Iran, Burilović said that it was not unrealistic for Croatia to participate in Iran’s total imports with about one percent. This would bring Croatian economy 657 million dollars.
Iran is well positioned in the region and can be a good strategic partner for the marketing of Croatian products in both Iran and the countries of that region, said Mohsen Jalalpour, president of Iranian Chamber of Trade, Industry, Mining and Agriculture. He announced that he would visit Croatia and expressed hope related to specific deals and cooperation. “But, relations between Croatia and Iran are much deeper and we do not want them to remain only on the economic level, but to include education, tourism and culture”, he said.
HGK pointed out that the reactions of Croatian businesses were very positive. Vitomir Klasić from Ivanićplast company believes that they will establish business cooperation with Iranians. “We have contacts, we have sent our samples and we hope for a business deal in the amount of 200,000 to 300,000 euro, which is a lot for us”, said Klasić.
According to Roko Vuletić, CEO of the NCP Group, Iran is primarily expecting partners who are ready to invest into joint projects and he sees an opportunity there. Meanwhile, Niko Dalić, a member of INA Managing Board, said that his company has been present on the Iranian market for a long time, but the type of contracts the Iranians had with foreign oil companies have changed. “We hope that these new types of contracts will be to the benefit of all investors, and that we will negotiate a better contract than the one we had before”, Dalić said.
The total exchange of goods between Croatia and Iran was only 4.4 million dollars in 2015. Iran is one of few countries with which Croatia has a surplus in the exchange of goods. It exports seven times more goods than it imports, but this is still a very small amount. The market of over 80 million people offers much more possibilities.
