Tehran, Iran, May 27
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has ordered the establishment of an international oil and gas center on the country's southern Kish Island, located in the Persian Gulf.
Ezattollah Akbari, the managing director of Iran's Manufacturing Support and Procurement (Kalanaft) Company, said that the issue was suggested during the previous term of Zanganeh as the oil minister, but it's now being carried out, Iran's SHANA News Agency reported on May 27.
"We have to pave the way for foreign banks and insurance companies to establish their offices on the Island, he said.
"Domestic banks and insurance companies also need to actively operate on the Island," he explained.
Kish is a 91.5-square-kilometre resort island in the Persian Gulf. It is part of the Hormozgan Province of Iran. Due to its free trade zone status it is touted as a consumer's paradise, with numerous malls, shopping centers, tourist attractions, and resort hotels.
It has an estimated population of 20,000 residents and about 1 million people visit the island annually. Kish Island was ranked among the world's 10 most beautiful islands by The New York Times in 2010, and is the fourth most visited vacation destination in Southwest Asia after Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Foreign nationals wishing to enter Kish Free Zone from legal ports are not required to obtain visas prior to travel. Valid travel permits are stamped for 14 days by airport and Kish Island port police.