Russians overtake Chinese in investing in Iran
Ever since the government of President Ebrahim Raeisi took office in August 2021, Russia has made the biggest volume of investment in Iran, according to deputy economy minister Ali Fekri.
MEHR: Ever since the government of President Ebrahim Raeisi took office in August 2021, Russia has made the biggest volume of investment in Iran, according to deputy economy minister Ali Fekri.
Putting the total volume of investments attracted in Iran at $5.95 billion during the period, the official, who doubles as the head of the state-run Organization for Investment and Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran, said: “Russians account for $2.7 billion of the sum. They’ve put the money in two oil projects,” Financial Tribune reported.
Following Russia are the UAE, Turkey, China and Afghanistan, he added.
“Considering the circumstances, the investments have entered Iran through bureaux de change.”
Voicing dissatisfaction with the Chinese for their insignificant volume of investment in Iran, he said they have invested about $185 million in the country during the period. “We are not satisfied with this number, they have invested in small and medium-sized [projects] like our neighboring countries, mostly in transportation and transit terminals.”
This is while China and Iran have announced plans for cooperation in areas such as energy and infrastructure, after they signed a 25-year cooperation agreement.
The landmark agreement, which was signed in March 2021 and entered the implementation phase on Jan. 14, was supposed to see the two countries expand cooperation in the fields of energy, infrastructure, production capacity, science and technology, and medicine and healthcare, according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry.
Bilateral cooperation was also expected to be expanded to third-party markets in the fields of agriculture, fisheries and cybersecurity.
The cooperation document had for the first time been discussed in 2015 when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Iran. The agreement reportedly pledges Chinese investments of $400–600 billion.
Referring to Emirati investments in Iran, Fekri said the nationality of most of the investors from the UAE is not in fact Emirati. “They have mostly put their money in Iran’s industry and mining sector.”
