TEHRAN (IRNA) -- An Iranian economist on Wednesday called for minimizing the risk of investment in Iran which is now times higher than that in a number of neighboring states.

"Thus far, effective measures have been taken in the country for attraction of foreign investment but they have not been so effective. Given the long years of work on the important task; any success in the field would depend on minimizing the risk of investment, which is one of the barriers of investment in the country. Presently, the risk of investment in Iran is 59, while the rate is 28 in some of the neighboring states such as the UAE," said economist Reza Jaafari in an exclusive interview with IRNA here on Wednesday.

Creation of a safe atmosphere for investment would result in inflow of large sums of capital from neighboring states, including Central Asian and the Persian Gulf states, said Jaafari, adding that the tremendous capital would be enough for the country to finance development, industrial and energy projects.

He said that amendment and transparency of the foreign investment laws would also encourage investment in the country, so government and Majlis are required to focus more on the decisive issue and facilitate business and investment.