He made the remarks during a meeting to discuss the status and process of foreign investment in Iran and other countries, saying that Iran was ranked 29 in the world with regards to the number of the agreements signed in its foreign investment sector in the year 2005, which seems pretty satisfactory. Jamali said that the major part of the foreign investments in Iran have been made in the fields of constructing refineries and power plants, industry, agriculture, stock market and services and aluminum industries. He said that the bureau has ratified foreign investments for conducting 13 national projects, adding that a $1.5 billion foreign investment will be ratified for conducting some other four projects. Jamali noted that during a meeting on Tuesday the bureau will probably ratify allocation of some $1.3 billion for conducting petrochemical projects in the light, medium and heavy ethylene and polyethylene sector, $80 million for conducting two housing projects with the participation of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and $55 million for producing the lid for aluminum cans. Jamali also highlighted that conducting studies on investment in some other 25 projects was atop the agenda of the bureau. These studies are expected to cost $5b. He went on to say that until the years 2003 and 2004, the majority of foreign investments in Iran were made by the European countries and particularly Germany; however, during the recent two years the majority of foreign investments have been made by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He said that Iran economy is one of the most significant and suitable economies for attracting foreign investment. Since 1993 the process of foreign investments in Iran shows an ascending trend. According to Jamali, after Turkey and UAE, the Islamic Republic of Iran is ranked third in the region with regards to its ratified investments. Elsewhere in his remarks, Jamali said that the foreign investment rate in the west Asian countries has been about $34 billion during the year 2005 and added that these countries have been more successful in attracting foreign investment in comparison with the African states. He said that foreign investment growth rate in the south and southeast Asian countries is about 20% and added that because of both China and Hong Kong, the growth rate of foreign investment in these countries is much more than the west Asian countries. Referring to the fact that the foreign investors main factor for investment in a country is the existence of markets and raw materials, Jamali said that during the past year the southeast European countries as well as the commonwealth countries had a low growth rate in this regard. He also stated that the year 2000 was the peak point of foreign investments in the world with some $1.4 million foreign investments made all over the world. Jamali noted that a sound foreign investment is made when the output and input of the assets follow a balanced process. In conclusion, he said that those countries who are economically more stable can manage to create more opportunities for foreign investment. PIN/MNA