South Korean President Arrives in Tehran

According to the IRNA news agency, "Park Geun-hye," the President of South Korea, arrived in Tehran on Sunday, April 12, and was welcomed at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport by Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, the Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade. This is the first visit by a South Korean president to Iran since the establishment of political relations between the two countries. Reports indicate that a delegation consisting of 236 officials and heads of South Korea's largest companies and industries is accompanying the president on his three-day visit to Tehran. Ahead of the South Korean president's trip to Tehran, the country's Minister of Infrastructure announced the signing of a $20 billion agreement with Iran, and Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister also stated that South Korea is set to provide Iran with approximately $13 billion in credit. According to the Shana website, affiliated with Iran's Ministry of Oil, Kang Ho, the South Korean Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation, announced on Sunday, April 12, after meeting with Iran's Minister of Oil, that there are many opportunities for cooperation between the two countries, and South Korea intends to take advantage of these opportunities. Meanwhile, Ibrahim Rahimpour, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, announced that during the visit of the South Korean president, 20 cooperation documents will be signed between the two countries, and based on these memoranda of understanding, South Korea will provide Iran with approximately $13 billion in credit for infrastructure use. Additionally, according to ISNA news agency, during the South Korean president's visit to Tehran, several multi-billion euro gas contracts, a €1 billion contract in the steel sector, a $5 billion contract in insurance and banking, and a $5 billion contract in infrastructure sectors are expected to be signed between the two countries' officials. Officials from both countries have stated that they aim to increase their trade volume from $6 billion to over $17 billion, a level that existed between Iran and South Korea in 2011. During this three-day visit, the South Korean delegation is expected to participate in a ceremony for signing several cooperation documents and memoranda and to negotiate the implementation of infrastructure projects in Iran. According to the official IRNA news agency, areas such as health, medicine, culture, telecommunications, information dissemination, hospital construction, dam construction, and railways are among the other sectors where both parties have expressed readiness to sign contracts and discuss cooperation. The South Korean news agency Yonhap has reported that the country cannot overlook such an important and significant partner in the era of economic development, but Iran has long-term goals to achieve South Korean technology. Meanwhile, Bijan Zangeneh, Iran's Minister of Oil, announced on Sunday after meeting with the South Korean Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation that Iran's oil and gas condensate sales to South Korea have increased by 300,000 barrels per day to 400,000 barrels. According to Mr. Zangeneh, "the banking issue" with South Korea has not yet been resolved, and this matter is "under follow-up." South Korea is recognized as the fourth-largest economy in Asia and the thirteenth-largest economy in the world, enjoying considerable economic growth.