Iran's Ambassador to Germany: Hassan Rouhani to Visit Berlin Next Year

While German media report on a disagreement between the Chancellor and her deputy regarding an invitation to Hassan Rouhani for a visit to Germany, the Iranian ambassador in Berlin states that the Iranian president will visit Germany next year, "probably" during his third trip to Europe. Ali Majidi, in an interview with the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) published on Tuesday, March 9, discussed Rouhani's trip to Germany, saying: "The priority is with countries in Europe that invited earlier," and the president will likely visit Germany after trips to Belgium and Austria next year. He also mentioned that Sigmar Gabriel, the German Minister of Economy and Deputy Chancellor, will visit Iran for the second time in May next year. Hassan Rouhani's first trip to Europe in early February included visits to Italy, the Vatican, and France, resulting in several economic agreements between Tehran and Paris, and Tehran and Rome, including a memorandum for the purchase of 118 Airbus aircraft from France. Following this trip, the German weekly "Der Spiegel" reported that Sigmar Gabriel wanted to meet with Hassan Rouhani in Germany as soon as possible, but Chancellor Angela Merkel was reluctant to invite the Iranian president. Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, during a meeting with the Iranian president on February 3, expressed Berlin's desire to expand relations with Tehran and informally invited him to visit Germany. The German economic delegation, led by Sigmar Gabriel, was the first European delegation to visit Tehran after the nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 in Vienna. Less than 48 hours after the finalization of the lifting of sanctions, the German holding Daimler, which owns Mercedes-Benz, signed the first memorandum to resume production in Iran with Iran Khodro Diesel. Meanwhile, the Iranian ambassador in Germany stated that Daimler and Volkswagen are still "in negotiations" with Iran. Mr. Majidi also mentioned that major German companies are looking for petrochemical projects in Iran without providing details or naming companies. He cited power plant and water and wastewater projects as areas of cooperation between the two countries, stating that during the visit of the German Deputy Chancellor to Tehran, contracts for "technology transfer" of wind turbines and locomotives were signed between the Iranian company Mapna and the German company Siemens. In May, Iran officially offered German companies investment opportunities in the development of the South Pars phases and the transfer of its gas to Europe. According to Iran's annual customs report, Germany had over $372 million in imports and about $2.5 billion in exports to Iran in 2014. The Federation of German Industry and Commerce expressed hope that its exports to Iran would increase to over 10 billion euros in the next three or four years.