Author: Steven Sahiounie

Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed that the 19th Asian Games bear the aspirations of the Asian peoples for peace and solidarity. This came during the official banquet hosted by the Chinese President in honor of the leaders and heads of delegations invited to the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games, which begin this evening in the Chinese city of Hanzhou. The Olympics torch will be lit again in China in autumn equinox, a day that symbolizes harvest and reunion in Chinese culture, Xinhua News Agency quoted President Xi as saying. The President pointed out the importance of giving efforts…

He pointed out that Russia sees “how steadfastly the nations of the Global South, the world’s majority, stand on the position of first and foremost ensuring their national interests” Russia has held more than 30 meetings at the United Nations, and there are new and promising projects, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a press conference wrapping up the work at the 78th session of the UN General Assembly. “We discussed the prospects of bilateral relations with lots of counterparts – and there were more than 30 meetings, as there are lots of new interesting and promising projects that…

Germany is considering a ban on parts made by Chinese manufacturers Huawei and ZTE in its 5G networks from 2026, government sources told AFP on Wednesday. According to government proposals, Chinese components would be excluded from the country’s “core network” from January 1, 2026, the sources said. It is understood that the ban will apply not only to new parts but also those that have already been installed. The government also wants to begin phasing out parts made by Huawei and ZTE in Germany’s “access and transport network,” the sources said. The changes to Germany’s 5G mobile networks run by Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefonica…

The foreign minister of Iran stressed the need to finalize a road map to cooperation with Hungary, highlighting the grounds for interaction between the Iranian and Hungarian companies in the energy industry. The top Iranian diplomat held a meeting with Hungary’s Foreign and Trade Minister Peter Siarto on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday. Expressing satisfaction with the arrangements for a joint economic commission with Hungary in the near future, Amirabdollahian described it as an important step toward boosting constructive cooperation between the two countries in economic and commercial fields. He emphasized that Iran…

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on Monday defended OPEC+ cuts to oil market supply, saying international energy markets need light-handed regulation to limit volatility. Speaking at the World Petroleum Congress in Calgary, Prince Abdulaziz said there was ongoing uncertainty about Chinese demand, European growth and central bank action to tackle inflation. Asked about Chinese demand, Prince Abdulaziz said the situation “is not bad yet.” “The jury’s still out. This is the fundamental issue – the jury’s still out.” Saudi Arabia and Russia on September 5 extended voluntary supply cuts of a combined 1.3 million barrels of oil…

Brussels must, however, protect itself as trade with Beijing is “very unbalanced,” Valdis Dombrovskis has said The EU will not cut economic ties with China – one of its biggest trade partners – but needs to protect itself, the European Commission’s executive vice president said on Saturday, addressing the annual Bund Summit in Shanghai. Valdis Dombrovskis, who is also Brussels’ trade commissioner, described relations between the EU and China as “very unbalanced,” as Europe recorded a trade deficit of almost €400 billion ($427 billion) in 2022, while total import-export flows exceeded €865 billion, an all-time high. “De-risking is not decoupling. And the…

Spending has increased as consumers adjust to the military conflict Ukraine’s gross domestic product (GDP) saw a sharp increase of 19.5% from April through June compared to the same period last year, according to the latest data from the State Statistics Service. The significant surge – the highest on record – has been attributed to the low base effect following the steep drop that occurred shortly after the beginning of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. The country’s economy contracted by 10% between January and March 2023. In the second quarter of last year, its GDP experienced a large decline of…

The statistics showed the oil sector’s economic growth rose to 16.4 percent in the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2023) from 3.5 percent compared to the same period last year (from March 21 to June 22, 2022). The data released by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) also indicated that the increase in oil production and exports accounts for more than 24 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in this year’s spring. Based on the CBI report, GDP including oil grew 6.2 percent and it stood at 5.2 percent excluding oil…

Head of the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran (ISIRI) Mehdi Eslampanah met and held talks with his Chinese counterpart in Brisbane, Australia, on Saturday on the sidelines of the 45th meeting of the General Assembly of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on issues of mutual interest and voiced their readiness to share experiences in line with strengthening bilateral cooperation in the relevant field. Eslampanah proposed that a draft of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between standard organizations of the two countries will be formulated by the ISIRI and will be…

In congratulatory messages to Saudi Arabia’s leaders on its 93rd National Day, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi expressed hope for the enhancement of relations between the two nations in various fields. The Iranian president on Saturday sent separate messages to Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, congratulating the Arab country on its 93rd birthday. In the message to the Saudi king, Raisi said Tehran and Riyadh have much in common in the political, economic and cultural areas, which serve as strong support for friendship between the two Muslim nations and closer bonds. “I hope…