Posts tagged : "Economics"

Kourosh Ziabari - International Policy Digest: During the tumultuous days of Iran’s revolution in 1979, the leader, the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, used a statement in reference to the perceived United States intervention in Iranian affairs by saying that “America cannot do a damn thing.” Iran’s revolution was hugely anti-Western and the height of its antagonism to the West was reflected in the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979, in what came to be known as the Iran hostage crisis, and laid the groundwork for the severing of bilateral ties between Tehran and Washington. The “revolutionary” Iranians believed that the sovereignty and independence of the nation was compromised under King...

Kourosh Ziabari - International Policy Digest: Seychelles is an archipelago country in the Indian Ocean and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. With a population of less than 100,000, it’s the 14th smallest country in the world. Seychelles, however, has a thriving economy and is practicing democracy, attracting international investment and receiving numerous tourists who want to visit its wonders. Seychelles won independence from the United Kingdom on 29th June 1976 and is a member of the African Union. Its vibrant economy developed from a mostly agricultural society to a market-based diversified economy but there are still problems such as unequal wealth distribution. An article in The Telegraph once described Seychelles as...

Kourosh Ziabari - Fair Observer: On May 8, US President Donald Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran deal, is a multilateral agreement between Iran and the six world powers that was endorsed by the United Nations Security Council. The accord, which was agreed in 2015, caps Iran’s nuclear activities in return for the removal of economic sanctions. It also reconnects Iran to the world’s financial and banking system. Trump’s de-certification of the deal was not unexpected. It was one of his campaign promises in 2016. He has pejoratively called the accord “Obama’s deal,” referring to his predecessor, Barack Obama, and has criticized...

Kourosh Ziabari - International Policy Digest: U.S. President Donald Trump has called for new sanctions against Iran and proposed decertification of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), popularly known as the Iran Deal. Trump has given the European signatories to the agreement, most importantly Britain, Germany and France, an ultimatum to fix the flaws in the Iran deal or forget about the United States’ continued investment in the agreement, which according to Trump, was Obama’s deal and one of the most disastrous and one-sided accords the U.S. has ever entered into. Terms and conditions of the JCPOA are clear. In a nutshell, Iran rolls back certain aspects of its ambitious nuclear programme, sticks to its technical...

Kourosh Ziabari - Middle East Eye: Iran has complied with all of its technical commitments under the comprehensive deal it struck with the six world powers in July 2015 to curb certain aspects of its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. As a result as much as $100 billion will pour into its scrambled economy and pave the way for more to come. It has shipped out 11,000 kilograms of its enriched uranium to Russia, reduced the number of its spinning centrifuges to reach the permitted limit of 6,105 active units, and dismantled the core of the heavy water reactor in the city of Arak and filled it with cement. Now, with the verification of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Yukiya Amano and...

Kourosh Ziabari - Gateway House: As Iran and the six world powers gear up for the implementation of the historic agreement over the Tehran’s nuclear program concluded earlier on 14 July, Indian leaders and businesspeople share an equal, authentic concern: how to win the lion’s share of Iran’s lucrative market of 80 million consumers, surpass the avaricious international competitors eyeing the country’s energy industry and forge closer ties with a nation that is expected to emerge strong from more than a decade of paralyzing economic sanctions. Iran and India have historic, cordial and untroubled relations, despite some hiccups during the U.S. and European Union economic sanctions of the past 12 years. The bilateral is now...

Kourosh Ziabari - Iran Review: Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum has recently introduced a new set of contracts for its upstream projects to draw international investment and rehabilitate the country’s injured oil and gas industry. The removal of sanctions placed on Iran over its nuclear program is imminent, and with the implementation of the comprehensive nuclear deal concluded in July 2015, international firms will be once more allowed to invest in Iran’s profitable energy projects. Oil and gas experts believe the new formula for the energy contracts, known as Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC), boasts many enticing provisions and persuasive advantages, including the exclusion of “buyback system” that had been in place for about...

When asked to expound their viewpoints on the interrelationship between “business” and “society”, people would normally speak of the innumerable benefits business introduces to each society and the horizons that emerge before the citizens through the initiation of dynamic and profitable business opportunities. Undeniably, business is a harbinger of prosperity and progress. Business opportunities in agriculture, real estate, retailing and distribution, transportation, production and manufacturing, finance and other sectors give the people the chance to uplift their lives and the impetus to thrive intellectually and financially. All of us would be excited to hear the announcement that an eminent, accomplished energy firm...

Kourosh Ziabari - Fair Observer: On February 17, 2008, Kosovo declared independence. The International Court of Justice subsequently stated that the declaration did not violate international law. Since then, the newborn nation, yearning for a prosperous economy and constructive international ties, has undergone ups and downs and received diplomatic recognition from 110 countries. Eight nations, including the United States, Britain and France, recognized Kosovo one day after its declaration of independence. However, aside from the question of recognition, Kosovo faces other issues as well. It wants to join the European Union (EU), forge stronger ties with NATO, improve its economic indicators, make progress on its human rights...

Kourosh Ziabari - Fair Observer: Aleksander Kwasniewski is a respected name in Polish politics. He served as the president of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He is known for negotiating the accession of Poland to the European Union (EU) and NATO. Kwasniewski was a critic of the Iraq War in 2003. However, he now says the early withdrawal of US troops from the country was not the correct decision, and that Iraq is a model example of “unfinished business,” in terms of ill-prepared stabilization plans. The veteran politician says the United States is Poland’s “strongest and the most reliable ally.” He also believes that US plans for installing a missile defense shield in Poland is a necessity, given the unstable and turbulent...

Kourosh Ziabari - Fair Observer: The standoff between the European Union (EU) and Russia over eastern Ukraine has not left Estonia unaffected. Sharing a 294-kilometer border with Russia, Estonia has felt threatened since Moscow increased its military presence in the region. The country is now looking for US and NATO backing to preclude the menace of a possible Russian aggression. Estonia’s airspace was violated by a Russian jet in December 2014, a charge that Russian officials vehemently denied. US President Barack Obama pledged in a speech in Tallinn that Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia will not lose their independence again. Pioneering a globally-reputed program of e-government and e-citizenship, Estonia is a dynamic and...

Kourosh Ziabari - Fair Observer: Trade ties and political exchanges between the European Union (EU) and Latin America are growing. The EU is the second biggest trade partner for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and some 2.2 million Latin Americans live in Europe. According to recent data, the EU is the largest foreign investor in the continent. There are a large number of prominent European politicians and diplomats who have dedicated their careers to boosting economic and political relations between the EU and the Latin America. One of these politicians is Benita Ferrero-Waldner. She had served five years as the European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy and was the head of protocol to...