Russia has become the largest foreign investor in Iran, according to an Iranian deputy finance minister who says the country has attracted a significant amount of foreign investment in the past 15 months despite US sanctions that ban countries and entities from engaging in business activity in Iran.
Ali Fekri, who leads the Organization for Investment & Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran, said the Russians had brought some $2.7 billion worth of investment to two petroleum projects in Iran in the past 15 months.
The figure accounts for some 45% of the total foreign investment attracted by Iran over the period, said Fekri.
The official added, however, that Iran was not happy with the amount of investment committed by China for economic and energy projects in Iran in the 15 months to the end of 2022.
“China has invested nearly $185 million in Iran over that period which we are not happy with given the amount of negotiations and meetings we had,” he said.
Fekri said Iran had set a target of $10.2 billion in direct foreign investment for the 15 months to December last year of which some $5.95 billion had entered the country.
He said the figure was much higher than investments that had been attracted by Iran in years that followed the signing of a nuclear agreement between the country and world powers in 2015.
The rise in foreign investment in Iran comes as the country is still under an American regime of sanctions that has banned any investment in Iranian economic and energy projects since 2018.
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/01/28/697147/Iran-foreign-investment-Russia-figures
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier said that the treaty provides for various forms of bilateral cooperation.
The comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between Russia and Iran has entered into force, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali told Sputnik.
"It is already binding," Jalali said when asked about the date of entry into force of the agreement, as well as whether Iran had notified Russia of the completion of internal procedures.
He recalled that the treaty was ratified by both chambers of the Russian parliament, and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed it. At the same time, the document was ratified by the Iranian parliament, approved by the Guardian Council, and the president issued it as a law.
"Therefore, in both countries it currently has the form of a law and, naturally, has entered into force," Jalali said.
On January 17, Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, met in Moscow to sign the Comprehensive Strategic ...
Defying the United States threats, ministers from more than 30 nations have packed Bogotá’s San Carlos Palace to charge the Israeli regime with genocide over its October 2023-present brutal military assault against the Gaza Strip.
The dramatic display of international solidarity saw dozens of high-ranking officials from across the globe convene inside the stately palace on Tuesday, determined to hold the regime accountable for, what they unequivocally called, a “war of genocide.”
The two-day emergency summit, organized under the auspices of The Hague Group -- a coalition co-chaired by Colombia and South Africa -- had representatives, ranging from such countries as Algeria and Brazil to Pakistan and Spain, in attendance.
The participants described the drive as a coordinated effort to stop the Israeli atrocities.
Behind closed doors, ministers and envoys, meanwhile, engaged in intensive sessions aimed at drafting collective measures to pressure the regime -- steps expected to be unveiled by ...
