Iran Enviro Exhibition

Dr. Jahangiri, the current first VP, was the Minister of Industry and Mines during President Khatami when he agreed to outphase and stop the production of Peykan the popular, but polluting Iranian car in 2002. That measure was a milestone in Iran's surge to upgrade its car production and compete in global markets. I mentioned that point yesterday in the inaugural ceremony of the 13th Iran Enviro Exhibition in Tehran. Dr. Jahangiri and the Minister of Nature Protection of Armenia Mr. Hartounian were our special guests. The Ambassador of Italy also spoke on the readiness of Italian companies to work in Iran on environmental technologies. The strategy of promoting the green economy was embraced by Dr. Rouhani during his election campaign and we have taken several important steps in the DOE pursuant to that strategy including the revival of the "Environment Fund of Iran", incorporating important environmental policies in the budget, and convening the exhibition with the theme of green economy. We started late but the event was well received by both private sector and government sectors, NGOs also had a pavilion and were very visible.I spent over 6 hours in the exhibition visiting the booths and talking with people about what they had done for the environment. Corporations were active in fields like recycling, renewable energies, water and wastewater treatment technologies, education and advocacy. Many Iranians now consider the environment as a priority and this is an opportunity for the nation.