“There are tremendous business opportunities in Iran but there is a lack of awareness,” said Vijay G. Kalantri, President of the All India Association of Industries, one of the organisers of Wednesday’s seminar.

“They are located very strategically, prices are very competitive and they are very keen to develop relations.”

Some analysts say that Iran badly needs to build such relations as it seeks to integrate its economy with the rest of the world but is handicapped by US and UN sanctions over its nuclear ambitions.

Western diplomats have in recent months said that the sanctions have begun to hurt Iran and estimates have put unemployment at a high of 10 percent and inflation at 19 percent. Soaring oil prices have been the only saving grace for the country which holds the world’s second-largest reserves of oil and natural gas.

Although this presents a good opportunity to boost trade between India and Iran — which jumped from $433 million in 2000-01 to $2.3 billion in 2006-07 for items excluding oil and petroleum products — some Indian industrialists said they were apprehensive due to the political uncertainties involving Tehran.

India’s growing closeness to the United States has meant that the UPA government voted against Tehran at the UN, scrapped over a mega deal for LNG, struggles to seal the Iran- Pakistan-India gas pipeline and has invited the ire of Tehran for launching an Israeli satellite that can spy on Iran.

Besides, there are also examples of Reliance stopping selling gasoline and diesel to Iran last year after French banks stopped offering credit on the deals and Essar Group backed away from developing a new oil refinery in Iran to avoid violating US sanctions and trouble for a steel company it bought in Minnesota.

... contd.