TEHRAN – Iranian finance and economic affairs minister said the foreign investment attracted into the country during the current year’s summer period (June 22-September 22) increased by 20 percent compared to the last year’s same period, ILNA reported on Saturday.

According to Farhad Dejpasand, in the mentioned three-month period which is the second quarter (Q2) of the Iranian calendar year, 840,000 direct job opportunities were also created. 

Mentioning the fact that the country’s economic condition is improving, the official said: "We have not reached the desired point yet, but despite the sanctions that were imposed on us, we have managed to stand on our own feet.”

Dejpasand noted that over the past six years, the figure for foreign investment has only been positive for two years and to change this situation special attention should be paid to investment and production in the country.

In late August, the industry ministry announced that $554.4 million of foreign investment was approved by the ministry during the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-July 22).

As reported, the figure showed a 60-percent rise in comparison to the same period last year.

Iranian industry, mining and trade sectors attracted $3.5 billion of foreign investment in the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20), which indicates a 75-percent growth from the figure of its preceding year, according to Afrouz Bahrami, the director general of Foreign Investment Office of the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade.

As previously reported, Iran expects a 10-fold increase of foreign investment in industry and mining sectors by the end of the Sixth Five-Year National Development Plan (2021).

EF/MA