Hungary, Iran seal deal for joint production of buses
Iran and Hungary have signed an agreement to jointly produce 1,000 buses in the Islamic Republic.
The agreement was signed during a visit to Tehran by a high-profile Hungarian trade and diplomatic delegation headed by the country’s Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga.
Based on it, Hungary’s leading bus manufacturer IKARUS would cooperate with Iran’s Shahr Industries and Mines Development Company over the production of buses.
The two would be able in a later stage increase the number of buses to as high as 2,000 units.
The agreement – that was signed at the presence of Iran’s Economy Minister Masoud Karbasian – also envisaged the transfer of the technology for producing buses to Iranian businesses.
Hungary’s Eximbank would allocate a credit line of €162 million for the project which is expected to be carried out within two years from its implementation.
Varga later told reporters that Hungary was determined to expand its relations with Iran particularly now that the US-led sanctions against the country had been removed.
Karbasian, for his part, said Iran had a good experience of cooperating with Hungary over providing its required urban buses. He also emphasized that the grounds were prepared to expand relations between the two countries in all areas.
Hungary’s minister for national economy later met Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari who emphasized that the Islamic Republic was interested in cooperating with Hungary over any joint industrial production project.
Shariatmadari further said the fact that trade between Iran and Hungary had seen a significant increase over the past year showed that there was still a huge potential to move forward.
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