Relations with Europe reviving: MP
By Sadeq Dehqan
Staff writers
A member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee said Iran and the European countries are reviving their relations, which had been damaged following last year’s unrest in Iran.
In an interview with Iran Daily, Jalil Rahimi Jahanabadi said that the Europeans’ miscalculation of Iran’s social conditions and last year’s unrest in the country led to taking hardline and aggressive stances against Iran, followed by poor relations between Tehran and some European countries.
Jahanabadi said that the biased approach adopted by the Western media which spread lies about Iran had greatly affected Europeans’ analysis of the situation in Iran.
The death of 22-year-old Iranian girl Mahsa Amini in police custody on September 16, 2022, led to protests across the country which turned violent in some regions.
Jahanabadi, who is also the head of the Iran-Portugal Parliamentary Friendship Group, said that the Western media had also affected relations between Iran and Portugal. However, he said that ties between the two sides are improving after the return of calm to the streets of Iranian cities.
He said that we will arrange a trip to Iran by a group of representatives of Portugal’s different sectors to witness the real situation in Iran.
Jahanabadi described the NATO-member state as an important country in the European Union, saying that Portugal is of great importance for Iran due to its strategic geographical position in the continents’ southwest.
The Iranian lawmaker said that Portugal has turned to a hub for computer programing and technology in Europe and Iran is interested in expanding cooperation with the European country in the fields of information technology and computer programing.
Currently, many powerful companies active in the field of European computer programming are operating in Portugal, and Iranian companies can cooperate in these fields with the Portuguese companies in the form of joint projects, the Iranian lawmaker said.
Jahanabadi said Iran sent a group of the members of the Parliamentary Friendship Group of Iran and Portugal and representatives of different departments and sectors of Iran to Portugal almost two years ago. During the trip, both sides discussed cooperation in various economic, cultural and scientific fields.
Referring to capacities of Portugal in the field of meat production, Jahanabadi said importing meat from Portugal is economically more efficient than other countries, including those of Latin America.
On the other hand, Iran is a four-season country with a suitable platform for producing all kinds of agricultural products that can be sold in Portugal, which has seen a 13 percent growth in exports in 2023. In addition, the two countries can cooperate in cultural and sports fields and holding joint cultural festivals.
The Iranian official said that according to statistics, food and agricultural products, metals, minerals, ores, machinery and other equipment were the main exports from Portugal to Iran in 2020.
In the same year, minerals and ores, agricultural and chemical products were Iran’s main exports to Portugal.