Mohammad Khazaei, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance, made the remarks at Iran's first midstream and downstream petrochemical industries conference which opened in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Thursday.
The official stressed that the issue of return on sanctions had been resolved completely and a new chapter was being opened in the country’s economy.
Given the instability in certain regional countries over the past years, investment has been transferred to Iran as evidenced by issuance of bonds for about 12 billion dollars of investment in 2016, highlighted Khazaei explaining “although still small for Iran’s big economy, the figure was unprecedented in the country’s history.”
He voiced Iran’s readiness to welcome foreign investment and cooperation through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models. He however emphasized that today’s economy necessitated opening of Lines of Credit (LOCs) to facilitate cooperation adding “majority of European states have already taken significant measures for creating credit lines with Iran.”
“New LOC agreements will be soon signed with countries like Austria, Denmark, Italy, UK, Germany, China, South Korea and Japan,” he noted.
Deputy Iranian economy minister went on to enumerate advantages of Iran’s petrochemical sector including availability of continuous and accessible feeds and easy access to domestic and international markets; “the path is paved now for foreign investment in Iran and using it as a hub for production and export of goods to the region.”
Khazaei voiced optimism towards the country’s economic progress since 2013 and in particular after implementation of the nuclear deal dubbed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Several Iranian and European managers, investors and technocrats are attending the two-day conference.
The conference is aimed at luring national and international investors and technocrats via holding joint ventures with important international companies.
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