EKN reintroduces export credits guarantees to Iran

"Iran is a significant market for many Swedish companies and it is important to reestablish business relations, now that the sanctions have been lifted. EKN's credit guarantees are important tools for enabling exports to Iran and we are now open for guaranteeing export transactions to Iran again," says EKN Director General Karin Apelman.

EKN's has been off cover on Iran since 2012 when EU sanctions against Iran were tightened and export credit guarantees were forbidden.  Before that, Iran was one of the biggest Swedish export markets in the Middle East, and one of the countries on which EKN had its highest guarantee commitment in the region.

From 2008 to the start of 2012, EKN issued guarantees for 232 export transactions to Iran, at a value of SEK 12.1 million. Swedish exports to Iran amounted to about SEK 16.7 million during this period. Exports guaranteed by EKN included sectors such as telecom, power and transport.

EKN classifies Iran in country risk category 7, an assessment undertaken in within the OECD. The country was downgraded from category 6 in early 2012. Since then, EU sanctions have prevented EKN from issuing new guarantees for Iran. The lifting of the sanctions now allows new guarantees to go ahead.