TEHRAN (TCA) — Iran expects to attract $45 billion in foreign investment this year as the country’s economy is opening up to global corporations, Iran’s PressTV news agency reports.
Iran’s Economy Minister Ali Tayebnia last Saturday said Iran is seeking $45 billion in foreign investment in the next Persian year which begins on March 20.
The country’s strategic location, political stability and population have made it an attractive destination for foreign investment, he said.
“All these factors have led to a capacity to attract more than $45 billion in foreign financial resources next year, with about $15 billion in direct foreign investment,” he told a news conference in Tehran.
Iran President Hassan Rouhani also said investment and transfer of technology was the key to the country’s economic boom.
Rouhani said at a forum on labor in Tehran that foreign investment is crucial to Iran’s efforts to wean itself away from oil revenues and develop its non-oil sectors, including agriculture, tourism and mining.
“Our past experience has shown that oil at a price of $147 cannot solve our employment and public welfare problems,” Rouhani said.
Earlier this month, Iran signed an agreement with Japan for $10 billion in investment and is seeking similar deals with other nations.
Germany’s Linde and Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals plan $4 billion investments in Iranian petrochemical projects.
Italy’s engineering company Maire Tecnimont has signed a collaboration agreement worth 1 billion euros for construction of refineries and petrochemical plants in Iran.
Another Italian company, Saipem, has signed a deal worth close to $5 billion to revamp and upgrade Iranian oil refineries and build pipelines in the country.
