SHIRAZ -- Economic security is the most significant precondition contributing to the development of investment in the country, a deputy interior minister said here Sunday.

Mohammadreza Behzadian, deputy interior minister for planning told IRNA that attracting foreign investments is the best way for economic development and job creation.

He complained about certain red tapes which have hurdled development of investment in Iran.

Behzadian said that the private sector should also be activated in the country.

Touching on the runaway unemployment which officially stands at around 15 percent in the country, he said, "Under the Third Five-Year Economic Plan (March 2000-March 2005), five million jobs are to be created for which an investment of Rls.830,000 billion is needed."

Officials maintain that Iran is still failing to attract foreign investment to boost its economy which is heavily reliant on petro-dollars.

Last week, Merhdad Mo'tamedi, an official at Iran's Chamber of Commerce, was quoted as saying that Iran ranked 154th among the 160 world nations in attracting foreign investment. He said that Iran had received less than one tenth of one percent of worldwide foreign investment.

Iran now looks forward to foreign investments to help it cope with a floundering economy and massive unemployment.

Majlis (Parliament) recently introduced a bill to encourage foreign investments by protecting them against seizure and allowing their investment returns in hard cash.

Last month, when President Mohammad Khatami was presenting a 450 trillion rial draft budget to the Majlis said that Iran was well on course for economic recovery.

The president said unemployment had dropped this year by two percent to 12.5 percent.

Inflation, around 20 percent last year, was contained and expected to stay below 15 percent this year, he said.

Parliament has released half of these funds for development projects and loans to the private sector to create jobs.

(IRNA)