Barely had the ink dried on the nuclear agreement signed in Switzerland, that a senior energy delegation from Iran arrived in China, opening the first chapter to integrate Tehran into the Eurasian economic core.
Iran’s Oil Minister, Bijan Namdar Zangeneh headed for China on Wednesday, accompanied by Amir-Hossein Zamani-Nia, an accomplished former nuclear negotiator, and now the Minister’s deputy for international affairs and trading. Mohsen Qamsari, the director for international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), is also part of the delegation, Iran’s Press TV reported.
The visit it taking place in anticipation of the lifting of sanctions against Iran, in case the final nuclear deal between Tehran and the six global powers is signed in June 2015.
China, which has been one of the mainstays of the Iranian economy after strict sanctions were imposed against Iran, is apparently being prioritised for economic engagement, ahead of Tehran’s possible entry into the global mainstream. Iranian media is quoting Mr. Zamani-Nia as saying that China's investment in oil and gas projects in Iran will be discussed during the talks.
The NIOC officials as well as senior Iranian oil managers are expected to meet officials of Unipec, which is the trading arm of Chinese refiner Sinopec, and state trader Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp.
“China has a number of big projects in Iran, and we're going to polish and resolve questions about those projects,” Mr. Zamani-Nia observed.
The visit has been suitably prefaced by Iran’s entry into the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The new lender is expected to play a central role in implementing China’s Silk Road initiatives, meant to integrate Eurasian economies as part of an independent new structural alignment.
The Islamic Republic, along with the United Arab Emirates has joined at a time when the run up to the formation of AIIB triggered a revolt within the post-war Atlantic Alliance. Top European countries, including Britain, Germany and France, defying pressure from Washington, opted to join the lender. Australia and South Korea have also joined the emerging Eurasian economic coalition, led by China, which is defining the marked shift in geo-economic power, away from the United States.
China along with Russia, Beijing’s chief ally, is also keen that Iran, eventually becomes a permanent member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) — a security and economic grouping that also includes post-Soviet Central Asian republics, as its members. That could bolster the SCO, for Iran would bring to the table its substantial energy resources, which can be funneled for Eurasia’s Silk Road development projects. Besides, Iran has historically exercised enormous cultural influence in Central Asia, visible in the defining Persian imprint, for instance, in the magnificent architecture of Samarkand and Bukhara in Uzbekistan.
Apart from China, Europe is also wide awake to the limitless possibilities in Iran. The Financial Times is reporting that Charlemagne Capital, a British asset manager that focuses on emerging markets and Turquoise Partners, a Tehran-based investment group, have announced plans to introduce international investors to equity participation in Iran.
To begin with, the two will offer a general $70 million equity fund targeting international investors, leading to a larger corpus of more than $200 million in the short term.
The daily quoted Bokor-Ingram of Charlemagne Capital as saying that Iran’s 80 million educated population and highly diversified economy presented investors one of their best opportunities.
