Tehran has
said it will buy over a hundred airplanes from France. The deal will be signed
during President Rouhani's visit to Paris this week.
Deutsche Welle, 24 January 2016
Tehran's
transport minister said on Sunday the country planned to acquire 114 Airbus
planes in an effort to refurbish its ageing passenger fleet.
Iran Air
will sign the deal when President Hassan Rouhai visits France next week.
The Iranian
transport ministry was quoted as saying it had been negotiating for the planes
for the past ten months but couldn't pay for them due to the international
sanctions implemented against Iran.
The
announcement came as aviation industry experts convened in Tehran.
"It's
a really exciting time, there's never been a situation like this,"
aviation consultant Peter Harbison told the AFP news agency. "A whole
array of different aviation services and new jobs are obviously going to be
created."
More plans
to expand fleet
Iran hopes
to boost tourism to the country following its nuclear accord with the United
States, Europe and other countries last year. It says it wants to acquire 400
long- and mid-range and 100 short-range planes.
Only nine
of the country's 67 airports are even operational.
The
transport ministry also said it plans to negotiate with the American company
Boeing, although no deals are yet in place.
Rouhani is
visiting France and Italy in an effort to boost economic ties with Europe.
blc/rc (AFP, Reuters)
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