Roundup: S. Korea offers 25 billion USD investment package to Iran

South Korean President Park Geun-hye offered 25 billion U.S. dollars aid for infrastructure investment in Iran, Petro Energy Information Network (SHANA) reported on Wednesday.

According to its 6th Development Plan, Iran wants to invest 185 billion U.S. dollars in its oil infrastructure to establish a giant holding in oil sector by 2020, Park said, adding that her country is ready to offer the financial support package to Iran.

She also declared her support for the facilitation of customs and banking affairs between Tehran and Seoul.

The visiting South Korean president made the remarks in Iran-South Korea trade meeting here on Tuesday.

In a meeting with Park on Monday, President Hassan Rouhani also pointed to the existing banking issues between Tehran and Seoul, saying that both countries should develop banking relations as a means to expand ties and enhance trade relations to the strategic level.

Iran and South Korea were planing for a three-fold increase in their bilateral trade turnover.

The target plan for the boost of ties is from current level of six billion U.S. dollars to 18 billion U.S. dollars annually, Rouhani said in a ceremony to sign documents of cooperation between his administration and that of South Korea.

Rouhani expressed willingness for the investments of the South Korean firms in Iran and the transfer of technology into the Islamic republic.

He pointed to the existing banking issues between Tehran and Seoul, saying that both countries should develop banking relations as a means to expand ties and enhance trade relations to the strategic level.

Seoul and Tehran also agreed to cooperate in tourism sector, and South Korean firms will develop Iran's tourism infrastructure and invest in constructing hotels, he added.

As for the regional and international issues, Rouhani said that Iran was against the production and use of weapons of mass destruction in the world, particularly in Korean Peninsula and Middle East.

Iran wanted security, peace and stability for Korean Peninsula, he added.

On Monday, Iran and South Korean signed 19 agreements of cooperation to boost ties in diverse areas.

Based on the agreement, both countries would cooperate in maritime transportation and the relevant infrastructure. Tehran and Seoul would also expand their level of cooperation by jointly working on energy industry and petrochemicals.

Water resources, electrical and new energy industry development, aquaculture, education and technology, culture, ports developments, health and insurance were other areas that both countries agreed to cooperate.

In the day, National Iran Gas Exports Company and the Korean Gas Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), under which Iran would export liquefied natural gas to South Korea, and the two countries would cooperate on exchanging related experiences in the gas industry.

On Tuesday, Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and the Korea Development Bank (KDB) signed another MoU to boost their banking ties.

Gholamali Kamyab, deputy governor of the CBI for foreign exchange affairs, who signed the document on the Iranian side, expressed hope that the cooperation document between CBI and KDB would help development of trade between Tehran and Seoul.

Also, boost of banking relations between Iranian and South Korean banks was necessary for the joint investments, he said.

Iran expanded ties with the east Asian countries during the time when western countries exerted sanctions against the Islamic republic, and Tehran was committed to developing relations with them in the post-sanctions era, he stressed.

For his part, the Korean side, represented by Lee Dong-Geon, said that KDB was ready to help Iran's industrial development.

Earlier, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh said Iran was still facing banking problems for the transfer of its cash from South Korea, but two countries are working together to solve the problem.

Park's three-day visit to Iran's capital Tehran, started on Sunday, was aimed at the talks on bilateral ties and economic cooperation as well as regional and international issues. A delegation of over 230 businessmen accompanied Park.

According to the reports, Iran-South Korea trade value stood at 6.1 billion U.S. dollars at the end of 2015, two times lower than the turnover in 2011, as a result of western sanction pressures against Iran over its controversial nuclear program.

However, the nuclear agreement reached between the world powers and Iran in July 2015 and was implemented in January has raised hopes here to reengage the latter with the global economy. Endit