Minister of Finance and Economy: Grounds prepared for foreign investment in Iran

Speaking at an economic gathering 'Investment and Commercial Cooperation between Iran and Spain', Mazaheri said that Iran can absorb investment in various projects in all sectors.

Referring to the current trend of foreign investment in Iran, Mazaheri said that Spain has had a very small share of this.

He expressed hope that bilateral ties, particularly in the private sectors, would increase in the light of President Mohammad Khatami's current visit to Madrid as well as support by the two governments for the expansion of economic ties.

Spanish Minister of State for Trade and Tourism Affairs Juan Costa, for his part, reiterated his country's commitment to expand economic relations with Iran.

Iran and Spain agreed to provide the necessary facilities in order to boost cooperation between their companies, he said.

He cited the three memoranda of understanding (MoU) on economic and cultural cooperation including on supporting bilateral investment, customs cooperation and tourism as a 'good' opportunity for Spanish companies to become further active in Iran.

Costa stressed the need for Spanish companies to actively participate in Iran's economic, industrial and commercial exhibitions, saying Madrid will help traders and industrialists in this respect.

Visiting Iranian President Mohammad Khatami on the third day of his visit to Spain on Wednesday inaugurated the Iran-Spain economic gathering.

Some 400 traders, industrialists, heads of labor unions and economic experts of the two countries are participating in the meeting.

Khatami calls on Spanish companies to invest in Iran

"We seek to closely cooperate with Spain in various industrial, trade, scientific, cultural, research and tourism fields and support contribution of private sectors of the two countries in this respect," Khatami said in an economic gathering entitled "Investment and Commercial Cooperation between Iran and Spain".

He cited oil industry, petrochemicals, auto making, mining, transportation, power generation, packaging industry, foodstuff, marketing and construction of hotels in Iran as among major areas of cooperation between Iran and Spanish companies.

He said that trade exchanges between the two sides have risen from 805 million dollar in 1998 to 1.114 billion dollar and expressed hope that Iran and Spain would enhance their commercial relations using the capabilities of the two countries' private sectors.

Khatami termed Spain's current investment in Iran as "meager" given the fact that that country is the one of the major trading partners of Iran. He also urged Spanish companies to increase their investment in Iran, given the approval of the law on protection of foreign investment in the country.

The Iranian president expressed his country's readiness to cooperate with Spain in the reconstruction of the war-ravaged Afghanistan.

He expressed happiness with conclusion of three agreements for economic cooperation between Tehran and Madrid.

Khatami pointed to growing political ties and increased exchange of visits by official of the two countries, saying this indicated that the two countries are serious to expand bilateral cooperation.

Some 400 traders, industrialists, heads of labor unions and economic experts from the two countries were present in the meeting.

Besides Khatami, Iranian Minister of Finance and Economy Tahmasb Mazaheri, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and Head of Iran's Chamber of Commerce Ali-Naqi Khamoushi as well as Spanish Minister of Economy Rodrigo Figaredo Rato and Spanish minister of state for trade and tourism affairs attended the gathering.

"Iran today is on the brink of massive economic, social, political and cultural developments and it welcomes cooperation of other countries for investment, (transfer) of technical know-how and expansion of economic possibilities in Iran," he said on the second day of his visit during a joint news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar.

"Spain is the fourth trade and economic partner of Iran in Europe and we hope their cooperation in bilateral and multilateral fields would expand further," Khatami added.

Iran and Spain signed here Tuesday three memoranda of understanding (MoU) on economic and cultural cooperation including on supporting bilateral investment, customs cooperation and tourism.

The two sides also agreed to negotiate on avoiding double-taxation in their future talks.

Spanish press have said that a trade deal to a tune of three billion dollars, mainly between the Iranian oil, gas and petrochemicals sector and Spanish firms, could be in the pipeline.

Majlis Speaker: Iran, a safe haven for foreign investments

The Islamic Republic of Iran condemns any act of terrorism in the world, he said.

Unfortunately, the September 11 incident led to insecurity of and recession in the air transportation industry around the globe, Karroubi said.

Highlighting Iran's detente policy and the country's drive to attain sustainable development, he said unfortunately most of dangerous and extremist moves taking place in the world stem from the wrong policies adopted by the big powers.

A national and international will is required to prevent recurrence of such disasters in the world, he said.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is among the most stable countries in the world and a safe haven for investments by domestic and foreign investors, Karroubi said.

Iran enjoys ample skilled manpower as well as abundant natural resources, he said.

Transportation plays a very crucial role in world communications and those who seeking sustainable development must have a very strong and well organized transportation system, he pointed out.

Some 40 domestic and 12 foreign enterprises active in aviation industries from Germany, France, England, Italy, Ukraine, Slovakia, Pakistan, Russia, Indonesia and Switzerland are attending the five-day air show.

The show is being held in an 7,000 square meter roofed area and in an open space of 75,000 square meters.

Companies producing fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, navigational systems, airport equipment and facilities and other avionic products are participating in the show.

Several Iranian MPs and members of the Majlis Presiding Board as well as the secretary of the High Council of Free Trade Zones were guests at the inaugural ceremony.

The show aims to give the public a bird's eyeview of latest products in the aviation industry that are available in the market and thereby keep them abreast with modern innovations and breakthroughs in the field.