04 May 2016
Tehran - Deputy Energy Minister Houshang Falahatian said here on Wednesday that Iran and South Korea have the capacity to increase cooperation in energy industry to 10 billion dollars.

Talking to IRNA, Falahatian said Iran's energy ministry is seeking to lure more foreign investments aimed at expanding the country energy industry during post sanctions era. 

He underscored that Iran is keen on cooperating with foreign countries and companies in the fields of constructing new power plants, energy lines and stations.

Pointing to the agreement inked between Iran's Power Generation and Transmission Company (TAVANIR) and Korean Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) yesterday, Falahatian said the agreement is aimed at implementation of projects to reduce power losses, promote efficiency, construct new power plants as well as on smartification of the country's power grid.

He added the two countries are able to expand cooperation in energy industry to $10 billion within the next five years.

South Korea's President Park Geun-hye, heading a delegation that comprises over 230 executives and businesspeople, arrived in the Iranian capital Tehran on Sunday on her first trip to Iran and the first by a South Korean president in decades.

After the arrival South Korean president in Tehran, a series of key cooperation agreements were signed by the two countries.

Yesterday, as much as 13 agreements were signed by private sector enterprises of two countries. 

They mostly concerned cooperation between Iranian and South Korean companies over energy, power, automobile and railroad projects as well as the financing of different industries. 

The value of non-oil trade between Iran and South Korea in 2013 stood at around $4.1 billion from which $3.8 billion were the exports of South Korea to Iran and some $300 million were Iran's exports to South Korea.

© IRNA 2016