WWW.TEHRANTIMES.COM I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 16 Pages Price 10,000 Rials 38th year No.12970 Tuesday NOVEMBER 7, 2017 Aban 16, 1396 Safar 18, 1439 Zarif: Visits to S. Arabia Iran self-sufficiency Iran seeks “The Girl Who Escaped prove ‘hazardous’ rooted in sanctions: World Heritage listing ISIS” comes to Iranian to region 2 Amal Movement rep. 6 for Ardestan mosque 10 bookstores 16 Lebanon to only consider ‘voluntary’ resignation from Hariri Lebanese Justice Minister Salim Jreis- become prime minister. But he said he Pakistan army chief sati says Saad Hariri, who announced was stepping down in an abrupt an- his resignation as Lebanon’s prime nouncement broadcast from Riyadh minister from Saudi Arabia on Satur- on Saturday, in what has been widely day, should return to the country and seen as a move taken under the House his resignation should be “voluntary” of Saud regime pressure. meets top Iranian officials to be formally considered by President After a meeting of high-level offi- Michel Aoun. cials chaired by President Aoun, Jreis- See page 2 Hariri reached an agreement with sati said on Monday that Hariri’s resig- political factions in Lebanon in 2016 to nation “must be voluntary 13 Iran calls Saudi-led coalition statement ‘provocative’ POLITICS TEHRAN — The of supplying Yemen with the missile deskForeign Ministry on launched Saturday toward the Saudi Monday categorically dismissed accu- capital’s international airport. sations against Iran by the Saudi-led The ministry spokesman Bahram coalition fighting against Yemen as Qassemi said that launch of missile “provocative”, “malicious”, “irresponsi- was an “independent act” taken by Ye- ble” and “destructive”. menis themselves and the reason be- The Saudi-led coalition issued a hind it was Saudis’ aggressions against statement on Sunday accusing Iran their country. 2 IMF forecasts $23.3b GDP growth for Iran in 2017 ECONOMY TEHRAN- The Inter- IMF’s forecast put Iran’s real GDP desknational Monetary growth at 3.5 percent in 2017 and 3.8 Fund (IMF) in its latest World Econom- percent in 2018. ic Outlook predicted that Iran’s gross Further in its report, the interna- domestic product (GDP) will rise $23.3 tional fund put the predicted crude billion to $427.7 billion in 2017. oil and natural gas production for Amin Jalali The report also forecasted a 3.7-per- Iran at 3.79 million barrels per day cent non-oil GDP growth for the country (bpd) in 2017 rising from 3.69 million in 2017, rising from 3.3 percent in 2016, bpd in 2016, and at 3.92 million bpd IRNA/ with no change in 2018. in 2018. ARTICLE Iran, Russia step up ties with first house of commerce ARTICLE H.E. Pang Sen By Hanif Ghaffari Ambassador of the People’s Iran has opened its first house of commerce nian partners about the creation of a Russian producers have pavilions to present and sell Political analyst Republic of China to Iran in Russia, in Astrakhan Oblast in the south of house of commerce in Iran which would fur- their food but they don’t have a space espe- the country. The new institution is home to 14 ther stimulate relations between small- and cially for business negotiations. chambers of commerce and industry from 14 medium-sized businesses in the two coun- “In Food City, the goods can get cus- provinces of Iran, who will exhibit their prod- tries. toms approval and be put up for sale, while Create new era, ucts on the first floor of the building. “We are in a serious position to enter the this building will become a venue for ne- Ongoing crisis in It is an “unprecedented event” that will en- Iranian market we’ve already got some good gotiations and getting acquainted with the share new future able the strengthening of trade links between proposals. At last week’s ‘Business Caspi- content and trends of the two countries’ Catalonia the two countries, Astrakhan’s Minister of In- an-2017’ forum, we saw that a lot of Iranian markets. Here, Iranian producers can hold he 19th National Congress of ternational and Foreign Economic Relations businesses are participating in the trading short-term exhibitions of their goods,” he n 2006, citizens of Catalonia called the Communist Party of Chi- Denis Afanasev told Sputnik. house and are attempting to develop re- explained. for the autonomy of this state in a Tna (CPC) was successfully held The house of commerce will provide Rus- lations with other countries in the Caspian The consul is hopeful that the new center Imassive referendum. At the same in Beijing in October. H.E. Xi Jinping, sian entrepreneurs with a new opportunity to Sea region,” Afanasev said. will enable the further development of coop- time, some independent and separa- General Secretary of the CPC Central discuss projects and contracts with their Irani- Iran’s consul general in Astrakhan Ali Mo- eration between Iranian businesses and Rus- tist groups were active in the region. Committee, delivered an important an counterparts, Afanasev added. hammadi told Sputnik that Iran aims to use sian ones, particularly in Astrakhan. He has But their activity was very limited be- report which set forth fundamental “Businesspeople from Astrakhan or else- the new center to better understand the already noted a tendency toward increased cause many Catalan residents believed policies to guide China’s future de- where in Russia wishing to build trade rela- Russian consumer market and increase its trade. that, being autonomous, there was no velopment, including deepening the tions with Iran can come to the house, look exports. “The level of understanding and coop- place for a claim for independence reforms comprehensively, adopting a at the products and choose what they need. “In 2012, an agreement was signed be- eration is growing, but of course it takes from Spain. However, over time, we new vision for development and ad- Here they can contact the representative of tween the governors of Gilan [Iran] and As- time. During the two years that I have spent witnessed an intensification of eco- vancing law-based governance. The a particular company, conclude agreements trakhan Oblast on the construction of an in Astrakhan, I have felt that the conver- nomic crises in Catalonia, on the one CPC’s new leading group was elected on trade and discuss the logistics of delivery.” Iranian house of commerce in the city of As- gence that is really needed for increased hand, and an increase in the autono- and H.E. Xi Jinping was re-elected as “I believe this structure will fill a certain trakhan. trade is happening and to some extent has mists’ propaganda campaigns on the General Secretary of the CPC Central niche, that is, it will close a vacuum that ex- In 2015, the Chamber of Commerce of Gi- accelerated.” other hand. The increase of Catalonia’s Committee for the next five years. ists in business between Russia and Iran and lan Province helped to survey of several plots “Our data for the first 8 months of 2017 debt to central government (nearly 42 As the world’s biggest political create good conditions for increasing trade of land, eventually selecting a plot of 1500 shows that the export of goods from As- billion euros) has been the result of the party with 89 million members, the turnover and cooperation,” he added. square meters in the center of the city. In col- trakhan to Iran amounted to about $95 failure of central government officials CPC is leading the country with the “This is precisely the point of opening this laboration with the Iranian Chamber of Com- million, while Iran exported $17 million in Madrid. largest population and the second house: to bring the business of the two coun- merce, this formerly residential building to Astrakhan over the same period. Astra- On the other hand, Catalonia’s in- largest economy in the world. Over tries closer, to establish contacts for logistics, was reconstructed and turned into an office khan’s main item of export was timber ($44 dependence advocates believe that the past five years, by implementing for Russian entrepreneurs to get to know Ira- building with an area of 1150 square meters.” million), followed by grain ($35 million). In despite the provision of 20 percent a series of significant policies, actions nian products for the Iranians to get to know Mohammadi said the new house of com- third place were seeds and sunflower oil,” of Spain’s GDP by Catalans, as well as and plans, the CPC has overcome a them,” Afanasev explained. merce is different to other centers in Russia Mohammadi said. providing 27 percent of Spain’s total lot of long-lingering difficulties and Discussions are already ongoing with Ira- such as Moscow’s Food City, where Iranian (Source: Sputnik) exports by Catalonia, there is a proper accomplished many long-aspired ground for the independence of this development goals. Being held at state and its transformation into an the critical moment of building a independent country. On the oth- moderately prosperous society in er side, opponents of Catalonia’s all respects, the 19th CPC Congress autonomy, despite the existing dis- is of epoch-making significance for Arba’een satisfaction of the central govern- China’s future. ment and in particular its tax policy In H.E. Xi Jinping’s report, it is high- towards Catalonia, are in favor of lighted that “ the dream of the Chi- Trekking: A alternatives such as greater auton- nese people is closely connected with omy and improvement of existing the dreams of other peoples of the window to relations.