BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 2. The economic growth in Iran over the past two years and eight months hasn't exceeded three to four percent, the country's Minister of Economy and Finance Abdolnaser Hemmati told reporters, Trend reports.
According to him, due to certain reasons, Iran's attractiveness for foreign investment remains low, with just $2.1 billion being attracted during the mentioned period.
He stated that the country's productivity is nearly nonexistent, and the utilization of foreign investments in production is extremely low, highlighting the necessity to boost productivity. Meanwhile, countries such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia have successfully drawn significant amounts of foreign investment.
The reality is that Iran's oil revenues amount to $35-36 billion per year. This alone leads to a budget deficit. The country spends a significant portion of its oil revenues on imports of necessary goods. As a result, there is significant pressure on taxes, customs, the private sector, and other areas," he explained.
The minister also pointed out that inflation in the country has two main causes.
"These are the constantly occurring budget deficits and the imbalance in the banking system. The imbalance in state banks also arises primarily due to the budget deficit," added the official.
In recent years, foreign investors have shown little interest in participating in various projects in Iran.
This is because, in 2018, the US withdrew from the Comprehensive Plan of Joint Action between Iran and the P5+1 group (Russia, China, the UK, France, the US, and Germany) regarding Iran's nuclear program. The US's withdrawal from this plan led to the imposition of new sanctions against Iran. Since the sanctions cover many industries, major companies refused to operate in Iran. This has led to various problems in Iran's economy. Iran is now encouraging foreign companies to work in the country again to achieve economic development.