Plans are underway to establish five medicinal herbs export terminals in Iran, has said Ministry of Agriculture official Mr. Peyman Yousefi-Azar. He added that the first export terminal is under construction in Fars Province with a 20% progress so far and is to be completed within the next 2 years. Currently, Germany and the UAE are main export destinations of Iran’s medicinal plants. Iran is home to 1,728 endemic medicinal plants, twice as many as all of Europe. In the last Iranian year (21 March 2016-20 March 2017), Iran’s export of medicinal herbs stood at US$ 91.1 million.

According to the latest report published by Iran’s Finance Ministry, the country approved attraction of US$ 12.48 billion of foreign investments since implementation of the nuclear deal in mid-January 2016. According to the report, with US$ 3.96 billion of investments, Germany ranks first among the foreign investors.

On 02 April 2017, Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Governor Mr. Seif said the current budget had not allocated any sum for the proposed money redenomination that is to drop one zero from the current rial. He noted he CBI had sent a proposal to the government where the Bank designated the future currency as Toman; adding that  Parliament is still to receive the bill and debate it. Mr. Seif said that the currency change and redenomination is unlikely to take place before 2019.

Indian state refiners will cut oil imports from Iran in 2017-18 by a fifth, as New Delhi takes a more assertive stance over an impasse on a the giant Farzad B gas field that it wants awarded to an Indian consortium. At the heart of the spat is that a group of Indian oil companies headed by Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) wants to develop Iran’s Farzad B gas field.  Iran has yet to hand out a concession that would allow its development.  ONGC Videsh has submitted a US$ 3 billion development plan to Iranian authorities to develop the offshore field estimated to hold reserves of 12.5 trillion cubic feet, with a lifetime of 30 years.  India, Iran’s biggest oil buyer after China, was among a handful of countries that continued to deal with Iran during the sanctions era. Indian refiners told a National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) representative about their plans to cut oil imports by a fifth to 190,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 240,000 bpd. In turn, NIOC threatened to cut the discount it offers to Indian buyers on freight from 80 % to about 60%. Cutting imports from Iran amid an OPEC-led supply cut aimed at propping up the market exposes India’s refiners to the risk of struggling to find reasonably priced alternatives. Despite this, Indian oil industrials said they saw no major impact from cutting Iranian imports, mainly because their main requirement is lighter oil, which remains in oversupply despite OPEC cuts.

Iran is willing to mediate between Pakistan and India over the long-standing Kashmir issue if requested, Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan, has said Mr. Mehdi Honardoost, adding that any conflict or tension between the two countries will hinder the progress and development of both countries but will also impact the economies of other regional countries. Commenting on Pakistan-Iran trade ties, Mr. Honardoost said a Free Trade Agreement draft has been signed between the two nations and it will soon be operative to enhance two-way business and trade engagements.

According to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mrs. Maria Zakharova, international peace talks on Afghanistan will convene in Moscow on 14 April 2017, focusing on the security situation and develipment prospects in that country.  The conference aims at adopting a unified regional approach toward moving forward Afghanistan’s national reconciliation plan by maintaining the leading role of the central government and the principles set in the plan for the convergence of anti-government armed groups. Delegations from Iran, Afghanistan, India, China, Pakistan, the US and Central Asian countries have been invited to the conference.

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