TEHRAN: South Korea plans to expand its service trade with Iran starting in May in an effort to restore bilateral commercial ties restricted by international sanctions, the finance ministry said Thursday.
The move calls for permitting local businesses to engage in service-related trade with Iranian companies in such areas as management consultation, legal and accounting support, engineering, computer systems design, tourism and intellectual property rights.
“After the full-fledged sanctions went into effect in 2013 over Iran’s nuclear development program, Seoul had allowed business to government transactions in the service sector from March 2014 onwards, but this move resulted in just two contracts worth US$30 million being signed,” a ministry official said.
With the passage of time and the government growing more confident that it can keep close tabs on all transactions, Seoul has opted to lift the ban on business-to-business transactions, he said.
The official, however, said for now, only companies that had previous commercial dealings with Iran can sign new deals. Contracts related to construction that may conflict with the sanctions will still not be permitted.
The ministry said the move could open the door for South Korean companies to provide services in construction, communications, medicine and autos once all sanctions are lifted.
The United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany reached an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program on April 2, with all sides to finalize the deal by the end of June.
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