South Korea president arrives in Tehran for historic visit
South Korean President Park Geun-hye has arrived in the Iranian capital Tehran for a historic visit to strengthen political and economic relations between the two countries.
Park landed in Mehrabad Airport on Sunday for a three-day official visit together with representatives from some 236 South Korean companies and organizations. She was welcomed by Iran's Industry, Mines and Trade Minister Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh.
The South Korean president will meet with President Hassan Rouhani on Monday in the first meeting between the two countries’ leaders since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two governments in 1962.
The two presidents are expected to discuss on a wide range of issues, from energy and infrastructure to developments in the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula. The two sides will reportedly seal deals worth over €10bn.
South Korea is eager to participate in Iran’s development projects and expand economic cooperation to communication technology, information, healthcare and culture.
This comes in a series of visits by world leaders to Tehran after the implementation of a nuclear agreement, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries in July 2015.
Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia – plus Germany started to implement the JCPOA on January 16.
After the JCPOA went into effect, all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran by the European Union, the Security Council and the US were lifted. Iran, in return, has put some limitations on its nuclear activities.
The nuclear agreement was signed on July 14, 2015 following two and a half years of intensive talks.
South Korea has been a major importer of Iran’s crude oil. It sharply increased its crude oil purchase from Iran after the sanctions were removed.
Last year, South Korea imported US$2.20 billion worth of crude oil from Iran, down 51 percent from the previous year and far lower than $9.36 billion in 2011.
However, in the first three months of this year, South Korean imports of Iranian crude jumped 17.6 percent on-year to $629 million, with the volume reaching 22.85 million barrels.
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