Rise Up

When Deputy Science, Research, and Technology Minister Seyed Javad Sadatinejad praised Iran’s progress in science and technology in conversations with the press in September 2012, hopes for the future of the country were solidly reinforced. Iran now ranks 12th internationally in terms of nanotechnology, and notable progress has also been achieved in the areas of biotechnology, space technology, nuclear energy, and medicine.

However, despite the vast advancements that have been accomplished through Vision 2025, Iran’s economic targets may be slightly beyond reach. With economic growth hovering around 3% in recent years, the close revision and strict regulation of the plan may be necessary in order for the government to meet its goal of 8.6% annual average GDP growth by 2025.

Other aims stipulated in Vision 2025 include an average investment growth rate of 10.9%, a per capita income growth rate of 7.2%, an inflation rate of 7%, and labor productivity growth of 4.4%. In addition, the authorities are seeking to shrink unemployment to just 7%, while boosting industrial and non-oil exports to $23.6 billion and $31.5 billion, respectively.

The National Petrochemical Company (NPC) has taken advantage of this incentive by setting up 73 new projects to be completed by 2025, adding 66 million tons of processing capacity to the country’s production total. “We have a vision for 2025 that will make us the number one producer of petrochemicals in the Middle East in terms of the value of products,” Abdol Hossein Bayat, President of the NPC, told TBY.

Although $250 billion is expected to be invested in the oil and gas sector in the coming years, organizations such as the Industrial Development & Renovation Organization (IDRO) are focused on the development of other industrial sectors to go along with the government’s vision. “IDRO relies on railways and high technology, which can help the country develop further,” Gholamreza Shafei, Chairman of the Board at IDRO, explained to TBY. In addition, the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade has committed to exporting at least 1 million cars and $25 billion worth of automobile parts annually as part of the overall development plan. The cooperation and support of a variety of companies is vital to the success of Vision 2025, which, in its seven-year track record, has seen the most success in the areas of science and technology.

Launched in 2010, the plan has set an investment target of $3.7 trillion for the coming 20 years, $1.3 trillion of which should take the form of FDI. To meet domestic needs, the Innovation and Prosperity Fund was established in March 2011.