Reporting "Asre Khodro", “We are in negotiations with Italian and German automakers and have also held talks with the countries to manufacture heavy vehicles, like buses and trucks,” Nematzadeh said in a televised interview Monday night.

He further pointed to the agreements reached during a recent visit to Italy and France by a high-ranking delegation headed by President Hassan Rouhani, saying that more contracts were signed in Italy than in France.

Trade negotiations with Italy had started earlier and the biggest trade delegation which came to Iran (after the July 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers) was from Italy.

The remarks come against the backdrop of a new wave of interest in ties with Iran after the country and world powers on July 14, 2015 reached a conclusion over the text of a comprehensive deal on Tehran's nuclear program and implemented the agreement on January 16.

The nuclear deal between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) terminated all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran.

Experts believe that Iran's economic growth will rise remarkably now that the final nuclear deal has come into force.

Iran’s automotive industry is the second largest in the country, after its oil and gas industry, accounting for 10% of the country's GDP.

Source: el-akhbar.com