BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 10
By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:
The total monetary value of Iran's imports and exports via its free trade zones reached $130 billion in the past six years (since August 2013, when the current Iranian government came to power), the Adviser to the Iranian president and Secretary of the Supreme Council of Iran's Free Trade, Industrial and Special Economic Zones Morteza Bank said at a forum on the development of economic cooperation between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union, Trend reports via Mehr News Agency.
During the reported 6-year period, Iran's exports via its free trade zones amounted to $85 billion in monetary terms, while the value of imports stood at $45 billion, Morteza Bank said.
Since 2013, goods worth $32 billion were manufactured and supplied to Iran from these trade zones, Morteza Bank added.
According to Morteza Bank, eight free trade zones and 32 special economic zones operate in Iran and they bring together 1,850 manufacturing facilities and 1,280 facilities of the service industry.
Since 2013, 810 trillion rials (roughly $19.2 billion) and $22 billion worth of domestic investments, as well as $5.4 billion of foreign investments have been made in these zones, Morteza Bank said.
The adviser to the Iranian president further added that conditions have been created for the establishment of foreign banks, as well as foreign insurance companies in Iran's trade zones.
*These investment are indicated in USD, because they were made by the National Development Fund of Iran and Iranian living abroad.