Secretary General of Iran-Italy Joint Chamber of Commerce, Pierluigi d'Agata said Italian economic activists are impatient for an active presence in the Iranian market.
He was speaking at a conference titled "A new era of trade ties between Iran and Italy, challenges and opportunities facing Italian companies" which was held on Friday in Italy's International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Rome, Tasnim News Agency reported.
"Today's session once again showed just how eager Italian companies are to resume activity in Iran," d'Agata said on the sidelines of the conference, which was attended by dozens of Italian officials, industrialists, investors, bankers and managers.
"Returning to the Iranian market is a priority of Italian companies in 2016, he added.
Maria Beatrice Deli, the ICC secretary-general said that the conference is very important given the large number of Italian companies attending it.
Mohammad Mahdi Behkish, the secretary-general of Iran's international chamber of commerce, said on the sidelines of the conference that the event indicates the keenness of Italians to expand cooperation with Iran.
"We should also use this opportunity and develop mutual trade and industry cooperation with this country," he added.
Speakers in the conference highlighted the top position of Iran's economy in the Middle East, and explained Tehran's macro-economic policies to Italian corporations.
The conference was held a couple of weeks prior to a planned visit by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Italy at the invitation of the European country's head of state.
This would come against a backdrop of global enthusiasm for closer ties with Iran following the finalization of the text of a lasting nuclear deal between Tehran and the P5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), which would terminate anti-Iran sanctions and pave the way for increased trade ties with Tehran.