Lebanese Businessmen Make First Exploratory Visit to Iran

On the initiative of its president, Dr. Fouad Zmokhol, the RDCL (Rassemblement des Chefs d’Entreprises Libanais) organized last week an exploratory visit to Tehran with 25 businessmen representing all business sectors except for banking. It was the first Lebanese delegation visiting Iran after the signing of the nuclear deal with the five plus one nations in July.

The six-day visit was organized in cooperation with the Iranian embassy, more specifically with the Commercial attaché, Mr. Hussein Sajad-Nejad, who set up all the meetings with the Iranian private and public counterparties.

The visit centered around promoting trade relations between the two countries, more specifically finding ways to help Lebanese companies and investors to trade with and invest in Iran. The Lebanese delegation also encouraged their Iranian counterparts to engage in similar activities in Lebanon.

The delegation met with public and private organizations amongst which the ministries of Economy, Trade and Health, the Investments Council, the Privatization Council, the Free Zones Authority, the Trade Promotion Organization and the Chambers of Commerce of Tehran and Iran.

The Lebanese ambassador, Mr. Fadi Hajj Ali, held a reception at his residence in honor of the Lebanese delegation, during which it met with members of the Lebanese community in Tehran and several Iranian guests.

Zmokhol emphasized the importance of strengthening the longstanding relationship between Iran and Lebanon especially between the businessmen of both countries away from politics and other considerations for the benefit of both nations.

He encouraged the Iranian counterparties to interact with the Lebanese businessmen in all sectors of common interest, namely in the food and agricultural fields, telecommunications, medical and pharmaceutical, as well as the banking and financial sectors.

He also praised Iran’s efforts to diversify its economy away from the reliance on Oil and Gas as a main economic sector, and expressed hope that the oil wealth will be spent on improving the investment climate in the whole area by funding mega infrastructure projects that will further enhance the economic cohesiveness in the entire region around Iran - from the Mediterranean to India - taking advantage of the pivotal geographical nature of the country which is surrounded by many nations to its East, North, South and West.

Zmokhol pointed out that both the Iranians and the Lebanese can benefit from their common economic strengths amid the availability of enormous resources in Iran and the ability of the Lebanese to engage in worldwide trade through Lebanon's diaspora.

He described the visit as very successful, saying more Lebanese businessmen will be visiting Iran for the same purpose.

The Lebanese delegates were surprised with the resiliency of the Iranian economy. Despite so many years of financial and other sanctions, the economy seemed robust and dynamic with no shortage of most renowned brands in the markets. The success of most of the productive industries was clearly visible in all areas, the private sector being at the vanguard of such success.

The delegation also met with three big private groups which are diversified in all sectors of the economy, from big industrial projects to ICT and telecommunications.

At the Chamber of Commerce of Iran, where a delegation of 150 Iranian businessmen was present, there were one-on one meetings between the various economic sectors.

The Privatization Council announced that 555 projects have been privatized so far at the cost of $50 billion and that 20 projects are coming on stream at an estimated cost of $20 billion. Public companies in all sectors and industries are put for sale and the investors are offered an attractive deal of paying 10% of the value of such projects and the rest in installments of up to 10 years.