Britain reopens Tehran embassy with promises of enhanced trade
Kiran Stacey in London
August 23, 2015 6:30 pm
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A British trade delegation accompanied Mr Hammond to Tehran but the Financial Times has learnt that at least one multinational company chose not to attend for fear of angering the US.
After nearly a decade of isolation Iran has agreed a breakthrough deal with six world powers to wind back the country’s progress towards building a nuclear bomb in exchange for a sweeping reversal of international economic sanctions
The delegation included representatives from business groups such as the Institute of Directors, British Bankers’ Association and the CBI employers’ organisation. But only a handful of individual companies attended, mainly from the oil or oil services sector.
They were Amec Foster Wheeler, Shell Upstream International,
Weir Group and Benoy, the architecture company.
Government officials admitted they had struggled to secure a bigger, more diverse delegation. One said: “We wanted to make sure it wasn’t just oil companies and we didn’t look like we were just there to exploit Iranian oil.”
One person involved in organising the trip told the FT that at least one company refused to travel in case it harmed its business in the US, which is more cautious in its approach to re-establishing diplomatic ties with Tehran.
more:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0cdeaa32-4985-11e5-9b5d-89a026fda5c9.html#ixzz3joP6Jwt9
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