Kuala Lumpur, Oct 30, IRNA -- Iran's economy is now ranked as the 23rd largest economy in terms of purchasing power in the world and among the top 50 countries in electronic commerce (EC).

The disclosure was made in the country (Iran) progress report by Iran's Asia Pacific Council for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (Iran Edifact) Committee to the 20th Asia Pacific Council for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (AFACT) Meeting in Kuala Lumpur which began on Monday.

The report said that figures will show that a key conerstone for further economic growth is structured within the development of a broad-based infrastructural and institutional EC development framework.

Deputy Minister of Commerce Dejpasand Farhad led an eight-member Iranian delegation to the three-day meeting.

The report said that at present Iran ranks fifth in the world in terms of fixed line growth as evidenced by the fact that 80 percent of main lines in operation are digital, and that between the years 1995-2000 18,000 of Iran's 20,000 rural villages have been connected.

Urban penetration is currently estimated at 90 percent.

In Iran, the report said, e-commerce has been designated as a critical strategic entry point for private sector development.

"It is within this context that the Government of Iran has drawn up a comprehensive EC policy, which has been ratified by the Iranian cabinet and is currently under implementation.

"This comprehensive policy serves to connect macro-economic policy with micro-economic behavior of industries, firms and consumers so as to achieve sustainable growth.

Key areas of this plan include, inter alia, tax exemption, implementation of e-government, development programs for the small medium economy (SME), nationwide expansion of e-banking networks and the like, all complemented by a comprehensive infrastructure development program.

"This policy has been buoyed by a budget allocation for the year 2002 of one hundred million US dollars so as to promote and further develop these activities," the report said.

"The unique demographics of Iran have been attributed to the fact that between 1995-2001, the number of Internet users has grown on average by 144 percent," it added.

The report said such significant rates of growth, would not, however, be possible without the availability of the requisite infrastructure.

In Tehran, it said, there are currently 1,500 Internet cafes, registering a median growth rate of 500 percent since 1999.

The AFACT meeting was attended by more 200 delegates and observers from 16 of its member countries in the Asia Pacific region.

It is a non-profit, non-political, voluntary and independent organization.

AFACT supports policies and activities dedicated towards promoting the growth of global commerce by enhancing the capability of business, trade and administrative organisations.

This would be the second time Malaysia hosted the event.

The first was the 8th AFACT meeting in 1994. Since then, the size of the organization has increased from 8 member countries to currently 16.

Other than Iran and Malaysia, the current member countries are Australia, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, China, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.