IRNA - Iran's economy minister, who visited Beijing to attend the second international 'One Belt, One Road� summit, stressed that, given the background and the historic place of Iran in the Silk Road, Iran's share must now be increased of in the initiative.


Beijing, April 24, IRNA - ' One Belt, One Road� debate is of great importance to Iran, and Tehran has been accompanying well with the initiative of the Chinese President, said Farhad Dejpasand in an interview with the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) in Beijing.

During his visit to Kazakhstan and Indonesia in July 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the construction of the �Silk Road Economic Belt� and �21st-Century Maritime Silk Road|, respectively, which eventually came up with the title 'One Belt, One Road� and was introduced to the world.

The project initially began with China�s investment of more than one trillion dollars, and so far 124 countries and 29 international organizations have signed a cooperation agreement with China.

The Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance of the Islamic Republic of Iran noted that 'In line with the implementation of the 'One Belt, One Road� projects, significant capacities and unique geographic features of Iran have led to a lot of benefits for the country within the framework of this engagement.

'Also on the sidelines of this meeting, we can negotiate with the ministers of economics of other countries that are present, and expand the fields of cooperation,' Dejpasand added.

He argued that China has provided a variety of financial resources to realize the idea of �One Belt, One Road�, one of which is the fund provided for this, and �we hope we can use this fund.�

The Iranian high-ranking official once again emphasized on the good cooperation of the Islamic Republic of Iran with �One Belt, One Road� plan, saying, �We welcome Chinese investors to attend Iran.�

In another part of his remarks, the Minister of Economy called for his visit to China to take part at the 2nd International One Belt, One Road Cooperation Forum, saying, 'Given that delegations from more than 100 countries attend this summit, there is a good opportunity for consultation and expansion of Iran's economic cooperation with participating countries.

The 2nd International �One Belt, One Road� Conference is held in Beijing from 25 to 27 April.