Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 3 / Trend /
Foreign investment projects worth $250 million were approved for the mining and industry sectors, ECO reported quoting Iranian Deputy Economics and Finances Minister Behrouz Alishiri as saying.
"We should develop a strategy for Iran's industrial development, determine the priorities and advantages of each sector and offer foreign investment projects to potential investors with a view to reach the favorable atmosphere needed to attract foreign investors," Alishiri said. "However, that is not enough and we should try to amend the business rules and regulations and improve the overall business condition in Iran".
Since 1979, the instability of the revolutionary government and catastrophic war with Iraq has had a chilling effect on western investment in Iran. The United States imposed investment restrictions on US firms in 1995. The economic reality is that Iran found itself in a bad economic situation following the war with Iraq. Requiring a western assistance in rebuilding its oil sector, Iran contracted with the French Oil Company Total in 1995 to develop its Sirri oil field. It was the first foreign investment in the petroleum sector since the 1979 revolution.