Iran, Sweden to cooperate in energy sector after sanctions lifted

Iran and Sweden agreed Sunday to boost cooperation in energy sector after the international and Western sanctions against Tehran are lifted early next year, Iran's Oil Ministry-affiliated SHANA news agency reported.

"Iran and Sweden can cooperate in various economic sectors," Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said in a meeting with visiting Swedish Enterprise and Innovation Minister Mikael Damberg.

"In the past, Swedish companies supplied Iran with oil machinery and, in the post-sanction era, they will be able to build them with the partnership of Iranian companies," he added.

International companies withdrew from Iran after the United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on Iran's oil and gas industries during the past few years over the country's controversial nuclear program.

"Working in the petrochemical sector can be on the agenda of energy cooperation," the Iranian minister said.

"Iran enjoys the cheapest, most accessible (petrochemical) feedstock supplies in the region, which can be used to feed petrochemical plants," he added.

The Swedish minister said Iran has huge opportunities for Swedish companies.

"Iran has 80 million inhabitants, many of them young, who are craving for Western quality goods. There is a huge interest among Swedish companies for the Iranian market," Damberg was quoted as saying.

On Nov. 28, Iran's Oil Ministry unveiled a new model of oil contracts to attract foreign investments in oil sector in the post-sanction era.

The newly developed model of oil contracts, dubbed as Iran Petroleum Contract, is designed to help the country attract finance from Asian and European investors. Endit