Azerbaijan, Baku, May 02/ Trend F.Milad/
Reserves of Iran's National Development Fund will reach $50 billion by the end of the current calendar year, Finance and Economic Affairs minister Shamseddin Hosseini said.
"Last year, the fund's reserve hit $30 billion. This year, its reserve will be dependent on oil prices," he added, the IRNA News Agency reported. Iranian calendar year ends on March 20.
Meanwhile, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on April 7 that the country's sovereign wealth fund could reach $55 billion if oil prices are kept high.
The National Development Fund which is currently valued at $35 billion was set up by Ahmadinejad's government last year to collect some of the proceeds from the country's oil and gas industries for the benefit of future generations. A minimum of 20 per cent of its reserves is supposed to be invested abroad.
"For the first time in history, the government has been able to save a proportion of its oil revenues while previous governments spent all revenues every year," Ahmadinejad said.