Iran allocates $1bn for marine industries

Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi says some USD 1 billion has been earmarked for the development of the nation’s maritime industries.

The sum has been allocated from the nation’s Forex Reserve Fund to support local marine industries, Brig. Gen. Vahidi said on Tuesday.

He underlined Iran has the longest shoreline and the largest fleet of ships in the Middle East, adding that all the existing potential should be tapped to further develop the country’s marine transportation fleet.

The top general pointed to the ‘good security’ in the Caspian Sea and said the Caspian littoral states should work together to settle the existing problems concerning the land-locked sea.

“At the moment, Iran has good relations with the countries ringing the Caspian Sea and seeks to boost its ties with those nations,” Vahidi was quoted by Mehr News Agency as saying.

He said more than twenty Islamic countries are located near the sea or major waterways across the world, adding that comprehensive planning is needed to tap into ‘this huge potential,’ which plays a key role in the Muslim world’s geopolitics.