TEHRAN - Iran attracted $2.351 billion of foreign investment during the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-August 21), up 97 percent compared to the same period last year, Finance and Economic Affairs Ministry data showed.

According to the mentioned data, $1.189 billion of foreign investment had been attracted in the country during the first five months of the previous year.

Also, in the mentioned period the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade approved 81 projects with foreign investment, compared to the 51 cases in the previous year’s same five months.

Based on the Finance and Economic Affairs Ministry data, in the mentioned period 590 cases for foreign investment were assessed among which 192 cases had the necessary standards.

Back in October, Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Farhad Dejpasand announced that over $3.8 billion of foreign investment was attracted in the country during the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-September 21).

“Foreign investment acts as a window through which technology, employment, and production enter, so the executive bodies should make their most effort to attract foreign investment,” Dejpasand said.

Dejpasand also said that Finance and Economic Ministry has outlined a plan for facilitating and expediting the attraction of Iranian expatriates’ investment, based on which some incentives and guarantees will be allocated to those investors.

According to the finance minister, materializing the motto of “Surge in Production” requires an investment of 7-10 quadrillion rials (about $166.6-$238 billion), and the attraction of foreign investment can play a significant part in this regard.

The current Iranian calendar year (began on March 20) is named the year of “Surge in Production” by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.

It should be considered that the trend of strengthening domestic production has been started in Iran a couple of years ago, as the country is determined to nullify the U.S. sanction on its economy through boosting production to reach more and more self-reliance.

EF/MA