Iran attracts $7bln in foreign investments
By Sara Rajabova
Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said Iran has managed to attract $7bln of foreign investment during the current Iranian year (March 2012-March 2013), Fars news agency reported. The figure is a 40 percent increase compared to last year.
Najjar was addressing a ceremony to inaugurate an economic project in Iran's southeastern province of Kerman.
Speaking about the impact of sanctions imposed on Tehran, the minister said the Iranians will "change pressures and embargos into opportunities".
In early 2012, the United States and the European Union imposed new sanctions on Iran's oil and financial sectors.
The US-engineered sanctions were imposed based on the accusation that Iran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program. However, Iran rejects the allegations, arguing that as a committed signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
In similar remarks in September 2012, Iran's Deputy Economy Minister Behrouz Alishiri said Western sanctions against Iran are ineffective as the volume of foreign investment in the country has seen eye-catching growth.
He also said that 50 percent of foreign investments accounted for the oil and gas sector and 20 percent for other industries, adding that 48 percent of foreign investments had been made by Asian states and the rest came from European countries.
In January, Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said that foreign investment in Iran's oil sector amounted to $20 billion so far.
The minister added that necessary funds for investment in the oil fields shared with other countries were provided from available resources, buyback deals with foreign countries and private sector firms.
Meanwhile, Iranian Mazandaran province governor Ali Akbar Tahaei told Trend news agency that Azerbaijani investors and businessmen can invest in the oil sector and in agriculture of Iran. He invited Azerbaijani businessmen to invest in the construction of an oil refinery in Mazandaran.
"Businessmen living in Azerbaijan and in other countries may individually or jointly with Iranian businessmen invest in Mazandaran," Tahaei said.
He also said it is planned to build a refinery in Mazandaran with the capacity of refining 200,000 barrels of oil per day, and Azerbaijani businessmen could participate in the project.
"The government has allocated an area of 200 hectares for the construction of this refinery. Iran's environment ministry has granted permission for its construction, and there are all conditions available for investment," the official said.