Vice President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari said Iran exported 70 kilograms of biotech drugs worth $150 million to Russia in the last Iranian year (March 2015-16).
“Imagine how much cement or steel should have been shipped out of the country and what harms might have been inflicted to the environment to secure $150 million,” he said.
Noting that the country could earn more from the export of biotech drugs than oil, Sattari said, “A country that spends $5 to extract petroleum and sells each barrel for up to $100 would always remain dependent on crude exports. Production-based economy and human workforce would lose their sense in such an atmosphere,” Forsat-e Emrooz daily reported.
Praising the establishment of some 2,400 knowledge-based companies in recent years, the vice president said private sector investment in such companies should be encouraged, since they happen to register an annual tenfold growth at times.
Sattari predicted that e-commerce is expected to grow by $80 billion in the next couple of years.
“Currently, 50 million smartphones are in the hands of Iranians. The country is in need of a cultural revolution in the area of information technology to produce content,” he said.
“The government would lend its unwavering support to companies active in these fields.”
