German industry eyes Iran opportunities after historic nuclear agreement

The historic agreement reached by Iran and six world major powers contributes to region stability and security, and opens huge business opportunities to the German industry, a leading business group said Tuesday.

Ulrich Grillo, head of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), in a statement: "With the gradual lifting of economic sanctions, German industry will do its part to integrate Iran back into the international community."

He estimated that German trade volume with Iran will quadruple in the medium term from 2.4 billion euros (2.64 billion U.S. dollars) in 2014 to over 10 billion euros.

"In particular, the modernization of the oil industry opens large market opportunities to German engineering industry," Grillo said, adding that other industries such as automobile, chemical, health care and renewable energies in Germany will also benefit.

According to the deal clinched between Iran and world powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany -- after more than two weeks of talks in Vienna, financial and economic sanctions on Iran will be lifted in return for the country restricting its nuclear program.

Earlier on Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the deal was "historic" as it proved that "even large international political conflicts could be solved through dialogue and persistence, even where distrust and hostility seem insurmountable at first." Endit