Iran approves 8 new projects for foreign investment
By Sara Rajabova
The Iranian government has approved a total of eight new plans for foreign investment worth $54 million.
Iranian Deputy Economy Minister Behrouz Alishiri said on Wednesday that the projects ready for foreign investments include copper and copper concentrate production, production of variety of float glass, production of different ophthalmological lenses, auto spare parts.
Alishiri said eight new foreign investment projects were approved at the recent 176th Meeting of Foreign Investment Board held recently in Iran.
Last month, Alishiri said the volume of foreign investment in the country has witnessed a remarkable growth.
"Iran attracted $4.85 billion in foreign investment in the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2013)," he underscored.
He noted that the figure hit $2.60 billion and $4.60 billion in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
Earlier, last month Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said Iran's Oil Ministry will support foreign investors in their investment to the country.
He invited all foreign and domestic investors to invest in Iran's petrochemical industry.
Iran enjoys high capacity for attracting foreign investment in its oil and gas industries.
Besides, in April 2012, Iranian First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi invited domestic and foreign capital holders to make investment in the country's oil and gas industries, and said Iran is among the most secure countries for investment in the energy sector.
Iran, which sits on the world's second largest reserves of both oil and gas, is facing western sanctions over its civilian nuclear program.
Iranian officials have dismissed US sanctions as inefficient, saying that they are finding Asian partners instead. A large number of Chinese, Indian and other Asian firms have negotiated or signed up to oil and gas deals with Iran.
At the beginning of 2012, the United States and the European Union imposed new sanctions on Iran's oil and financial sectors.
The sanctions, which prevent EU member states from purchasing Iranian oil or extending insurance coverage for tankers carrying Iranian crude, came into effect on July 1, 2012.
Iran rejects the allegation, arguing that as a committed signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.