Tag Archives: Hee-Gook Lee

Iran and South Korea sign memorandum of understanding (MOU) in July 2016

Iran and South Korea are becoming quite cozy with each other. A May 10, 2016 news item on FARS news agency notes that Iran is exporting nano products to South Korea,

Iranian Vice-President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari announced that the country has exported its first nano product to South Korea.

The Iranian first vice-president reiterated that the first nano product produced by Iran has been exported to South Korea.

“This move has changed our world ranking in the nano sector from seven to the sixth position,” Sattari said on Monday [May 9, 2016].

On the same day as the export announcement, Iran Daily ran a (May 10, 2016) news item about Iran easing regulations on Korean cosmetics imports,

Iran and South Korea have signed an agreement to partially ease regulations governing Korean cosmetics exports to Iran starting from later this year, making way for the expanded sales of locally made cosmetics in the Iranian market.

Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said its Iranian counterpart has agreed to eliminate on-site inspections — which had been mandatory until now — for certified Korean cosmetics destined for sale in Iran, The Korea Herald reported.

As long as they are certified under the Good Manufacturing Practice, or GMP system, Korean cosmetics companies will no longer be subject to such inspections when seeking to export their products to Iran.

Moreover, Iran has eliminated the need for Korean cosmetics companies to present documentation that proves their products have already been approved in the US or Europe.

Under the agreement, Korean cosmetics-makers will only have to prove that they have been approved for sale in Korea. In effect, this means Iran recognizes Korean cosmetics standards as being on par with those made in the US and Europe, the ministry said.

The two countries also plan to set up a space dedicated to promoting and selling Korean cosmetics in Iran by this year. However, the exact timing and details have yet to be determined, due to unsettled issues such as funding.

The latest joint announcement, the MOU (memorandum of understanding), is in an August 11, 2016 news item for the Mehr News Agency,

During the time of the Nano exhibition in Korea, July 13 to 15, 2016, Iran’s National Nanotechnology Initiative (INNI) signed several agreements with Nano Technology Research Association of Korea (NTRA), according to a report released by National Nanotechnology Initiative of Iran.

Dr. Saeid Sarkar, the Secretary of National Nanotechnology Initiative of Iran and Dr. Hee-Gook Lee, the Chairman of Korea’s NTRA, signed the memorandum.

Developing cooperation between the developers and users of the Nano-tech products is one of the objectives of the agreement.

Also, exchange of the information of the related products and technologies, identifying the developers and the clients of the technology, and joint hosting of seminars and workshops were among the other articles of the deal signed between NTRA and INNI.

If you consider that Iran got the right to export nano-enabled products to South Korea in exchange for the change in cosmetics import regulations regarding South Korea, a question begs to be asked. Just how big a market for cosmetics is there in Iran?