Iran Press/Iran news: Attending a press conference on Monday afternoon in Tehran, Morteza Sheikhzadeh added that products worth of $700 million were also imported from the zones in the last year.
He emphasized that the trade balance in free economic zones has been negative in recent years and has become positive during the past three years.
Sheikhzadeh noted that more than 50,000 business units were selling goods in seven free zones across the country, one established at Imam Khomeini International Airport.
Highlighting that 450 projects worth of 112,000 billion Tomans were inaugurated and more than 27,000 job opportunities were created over the last year, he added that projects worth of 15,000 billion Tomans would be put into operation next month.
The official referred to the imposed sanctions on Iran and recalled that before sanctions, Iran could have foreign investments, but now the investments got limited, necessitating the creation of an international bank in free zones.
Responded to the question of Iran Press about the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the economic conditions in the free zones, Sheikhzadeh pointed out that the threat could be turned into an opportunity.
"The idea of coronavirus vaccine shot and attracting tourists has been suggested to the Health Ministry, and it is possible to host and shot vaccine to 25,000 tourists each week," he concluded.
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