TEHRAN – Head of Iran’s Planning and Budget Organization (PBO) Masoud Mirkazemi said the government has it on the agenda to remove the barriers in the way of attracting foreign investment, IRNA reported.

Stressing the need for the attraction of domestic and foreign investment to achieve a targeted eight-percent economic growth, Mirkazemi said: “barriers to attracting foreign investment will be removed.”

Speaking in a gathering of Iranian ambassadors to neighboring countries on Wednesday, the official said with the new changes applied to the budget structure, the duties of Iranian ambassadors in other countries have become heavier.

According to the official, economic growth of eight percent is one of the goals of the Sixth National Development Plan (2016-2021) and has also become the focus of the 13th government's major economic programs.

Achieving this level of growth has been repeatedly considered by members of the government's economic team, Mirkazemi stressed.

Back in November, Iranian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ehsan Khandouzi announced the government Economic Coordination Headquarters' approval of a roadmap proposed by his ministry for economic development.

According to Khandouzi, following this roadmap, the government will help increase productivity and improve the business environment through two categories of measures. First, removing barriers to the production, and secondly providing support for pioneering projects by facilitating financing procedures like foreign investment.

Pointing to the ways for financing pioneering projects, the official noted that the participation of foreign partners and attracting foreign investment mainly from neighboring countries is one of the major ways through which the government plans to fund these projects.

Based on the latest data released by the Iranian Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade, the ministry approved 74 foreign investment projects valued at about $2.227 billion in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-September 22).

EF/MA