EMB
IS IT
TIME TO
INVEST?
Iran: an oil-rich Islamic state that occupies 1.65 million square
kilometers of West Asia and hosts around 80 million residents.
Cuba: a Caribbean island nation renowned for its rum, cigars
and a Communist regime that has ruled its inhabitants—
currently 11.2 million—since 1959.
Save for revolutionary icons that have long divided public
opinion, on the face of it, Cuba and Iran share little in common.
But there is one thing that has united the two countries for
decades: a long and crippling legacy of sanctions.
Since 1979 in the case of Iran and as far back as 1960 for Cuba,
the imposition of trade embargos along with other political
and economic restrictions imposed by the USA and its allies,
have hindered the countries’ growth and development. But
times are changing. Where embargos once connected the two,
newfound freedom heralded by the gradual lifting of sanctions
now promises to be the defining feature of this unlikely bond.
Of course, it is far too early to predict how events will unfold
or to prophesize about the long-term impacts that sanctionlifting will have, but that isn’t stopping analysts and the
international business community from trying, as they seek to
determine if Cuba and Iran are primed for foreign investment.
Figures in US$ billions. Source: World Bank
EMBreview.org 23