One may argue whether President Mohammad Khatami has enjoyed much success in introducing political reforms in Iran since he took office in May 1997. But few can argue his economic attractiveness.
Speaking to the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA), Ali Akbar Jaafari, a member of parliament, said that during the period of time that the former president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, was in office, Iran attracted $750 million in foreign investment. In contrast, the number soared to $2.5 billion after Khatami took over the reigns of power.
As a result of Khatami's policy of detente, Jaafari said, Germany, Canada, France and Italy have indicated their readiness to invest in the country.
But it is Japan that is assuming the role of Iran’s most important economic partner. When Khatami visited Tokyo in October, the first Iranian head of government to go to Japan in 42 years, the annual volume of Iranian-Japanese trade already totaled eight billion dollars. Furthermore, Japan agreed to extend an insurance coverage worth $550 million to Iran’s steel, telecommunications and petrochemical sectors, and facilities to the oil industry worth three billion dollars.
Japanese business interest also managed to acquire exclusive negotiation rights to develop the Azadegan oil field in southwest Iran, which is considered one of the largest oil fields in the Middle East, with reserves of more than 26 billion barrels.
But not all news was good. It turns out that the weeks of violent student unrest in Iran, in July of 1999, had a severe economic impact on the country, even though the political effects were marginal.
Jaafari said that about 700 domestic investors withdrew from local projects and shifted their money to the United Arab Emirates and other states. ¯ (Albawaba-MEBG)
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
