Italian Foreign Minister has invited President Hassan Rouhani to visit Rome, as Italy agreed to provide funding and insurance coverage for various project worth $2 billion in Iran.

Italian Foreign Minister has invited President Hassan Rouhani to visit Rome, as Italy agreed to provide funding and insurance coverage for various project worth $2 billion in Iran.

Official news agency, IRNA, reported that the Italian FM Paolo Gentiloni conveyed the official invitation from Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi during a visit to Tehran, his first since Iran reached the historic nuclear deal with world powers last month.

Meanwhile, Gentiloni said his country is keen to invest in Iranian projects.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Italy’s investment bank Mediobanca along with its development ministry and export credit agency SACE in Tehran Tuesday with Iran’s economy ministry and central bank, Press TV reported.

In a statement, Mediobanca said the aim of the agreement was "to facilitate future economic and commercial relations between the two countries".

An Iranian official said the MoU will be executed upon the removal of the sanctions imposed against the Islamic Republic, with Mediobanca providing credit and SACE insurance for projects in Iran.

“The value of the agreement is $2 billion which we hope to implement soon,” Italian Economic Development Minister Federica Guidi, who accompanied the  European delegation visiting Iran, told reporters.

Italy remains one of Iran’s main commercial partners despite a steep decline in trade because of the sanctions. According to SACE, oil and gas, automotive, defense, transport and real estate offer the best opportunities for cooperation.