ENI Eni Spa

ROME—Iranian President Hassan Rouhani arrived in Italy Monday, the first stop in a European tour aimed at re-establishing political and business relations after broad economic sanctions were lifted.

Mr. Rouhani said Monday that his four-day European trip would begin in Italy and end with a leg in Paris, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

The leader landed in Rome on Monday morning, his first overseas trip since sanctions against doing business with Iran ended on Jan. 16 in return for the country implementing limits to its nuclear program. The deal has opened the door to Western countries who are seeking to re-establish ties to sell everything from consumer goods to aircraft.

With a number of U.S. restrictions still in place, the Europeans are moving quickly to strike deals with Iran. During Mr. Rouhani's European tour, tens of billions of euros worth of new agreements are expected to be announced with French and Italian companies. Both countries maintained warm relations with Tehran even during the sanctions.

Mr. Rouhani is meeting Italian President Sergio Mattarella at midday and will dine with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and a slate of Italian business executives late Monday evening.

On Tuesday morning, he will meet Italy's main business association, followed by a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican. The Italian government last week promised up to â,¬8 billion ($8.71 billion) in financing for companies looking to invest in Iran and wants Italian exports to Iran to quadruple in the next two years.

On Wednesday, Mr. Rouhani flies to Paris where he will meet with senior government and business officials.

The president is seen as a relative moderate in Iran's conservative political system. He was elected on a platform of improving the economy, facilitating the removal of sanctions and boosting trade.

After years of sanctions, Iran is eager to drum up foreign investment, particularly for investment in transport, energy and durable consumer goods such as cars. Iranian consumers were largely limited to Chinese and Indian imports during the sanctions era.

European companies such as Italian oil giant Eni SpA and German auto and truck maker Daimler AG are all expected to move quickly to resume business with Iran. Iranian officials have recently said the country will buy 114 planes from the France-based international aviation giant Airbus Group SE, helping renovate its small and poorly maintained passenger fleet.

Just minutes after Mr. Rouhani landed in Rome, Italian airline Alitalia SpA announced it will boost the number of flights between Rome and Tehran from four times a week to daily, starting March 27.

Numerous European business delegations have visited Iran in recent months. A delegation of about 300 Italian business people went to Tehran late last year to scope out post-sanctions opportunities.

Mr. Rouhani had originally planned the visit last November, but postponed it in the wake of deadly terror attacks in Paris that month.

As Mr. Rouhani departed for Europe on Monday morning, his country's deputy foreign minister, Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, told reporters that business ties between Iranian and foreign business are returning to normal, even as the Islamic Republic works on having other sanctions removed.

"Things are gradually moving toward normalization of business between Iranian entities and foreign entities," said Mr. Araghchi. "Iranian banks have already started to contact their counterparts trying to establish their connections."

Meanwhile, Tuesday's meeting between Pope Francis and Mr. Rouhani will be the first between a pope and an Iranian president since St. John Paul II received President Mohammad Khatami in 1999.

The Holy See has long enjoyed cordial relations with the Islamic Republic, which maintains one of the larger diplomatic missions to the Vatican. In a speech before the United Nations General Assembly last September, Pope Francis praised the nuclear deal as "proof of the potential of political good will and of law, exercised with sincerity, patience and constancy," and said it was an important step toward the elimination of all nuclear weapons.

Asa Fitch contributed to this article.

Write to Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com and Deborah Ball at deborah.ball@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 25, 2016 07:35 ET (12:35 GMT)

Eni (BIT:ENI)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024

Eni (BIT:ENI)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024