Iran attracted $6.7b in investment during EXPO event: Official
Iran’s chief economic diplomat said foreign companies and governments committed to some $6.7 billion worth of investment in Iran during an investment opportunity exhibition that was held in early May in Tehran.
Mehdi Safari, who leads economic diplomacy department of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday that Iran seeks to break new records in foreign investment attraction and even go beyond the milestone figures recorded during the Iran EXPO 2023 event that was held on May 7-10, Press TV reported.
Safari said Iran has an ambitious vision to diversify its economy away from crude oil revenues, including by expanding the transportation infrastructure in the country to significantly increase its cargo transit revenues.
He said a target has been set to increase the volume of cargo transit via Iran to 90 million metric tons (mt) per year, including some 60 million mt in East-West transit, adding that the country expects that could generate up to $100 billion in transit fees each year.
The senior diplomat said Iran has been trying to expand its fleet operating in shipping routes in the Caspian Sea to help increase the flow of cargo on the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) that passes through the Iranian territory.
Safari added that Iran’s efforts to expand routes along the INSTC will focus on the completion of the Rasht-Astara railway, a major project kicked off earlier this year with Russian investment, although he insisted efforts will not only be limited to that project.