Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.22/ Trend R.Zamanov
Iran's technical and engineering services exports to neighbouring Iraq accounted for 70 per cent of the country's total technical exports in the previous calendar year which ended March 20, Head of the Association of Iranian Exporters of Technical and Engineering Services, Mohammad Reza Ansari said.
Iran exported a total of $2.3 billion worth of these services in the previous calendar year, the ILNA News Agency quoted Ansari as saying.
"Iran exported 4.2 billion dollars' worth of technical and engineering services in the Iranian calendar year of 1390, ended March 20, 2012, but the figure decreased in the previous year," he said.
"Iran has the capacity to export 20 billion dollars' worth of these services," Ansari added. "The goal is to achieve this in five years."
Ansari said in February that over 14,000 Iranians are working in foreign countries.
The US-generated sanctions have made it very hard for the private sector to export technical and engineering services, ISNA quoted Ansari as saying.
Ansari previously said Iranian companies have the potential to carry out the projects worth up to $20 billion annually in different countries.
Former Industry, Mines, and Trade Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari said in June that Iran's technical and engineering exports are predicted to exceed $10 billion in the current Iranian calendar year which began on March 21, IRNA reported.
This will be the minimum volume and the country's actual capacity will be much more, he noted.
He emphasised the role of free trade zones in increasing these exports.
Over 120 Iranian companies implemented several development plans in 60 countries last year.