TEHRAN, Sept. 8--A senior Management and Planning Organization (MPO) official here on Wednesday rejected reports that the fourth development plan (2005-2010) may be delayed or postponed for a year, stressing that the plan will become operational next March.
Seyyed Mohammad Qassem Hosseini, deputy head of the MPO for parliamentary affairs, further said that the fourth plan bill, which is yet to become a law, will be implemented as of next year and on the basis of the March-2005-2006 budget law, which will be prepared within the next six months.
"The budget bill will be submitted to the parliament in early 2005," he said, adding that the MPO will draw up the bill in accordance with the final version of the fourth plan.
On August 18, the conservative-dominated Seventh Parliament ratified the amended version of the fourth plan bill--which had earlier been approved by the Sixth Parliament, rejected by the constitutional watchdog Guardians Council and returned to the parliament by the arbitrating body State Expediency Council.
The Guardians Council rejected the bill once again on August 25.
This is while experts contend that most of the parliamentary amendments to the fourth plan will contribute to efforts to stem development drive.
Government officials have expressed opposition to parliamentary changes to the fourth plan.
Economic experts stress that state-controlled economy is the main obstacle to achieving development goals. The original version of the fourth plan, for the very reason, had envisaged effective measures to make the government leaner and drive the national economy towards privatization.
The fourth plan stipulates ceding the shares of major state economic companies and establishments, including giant steel mills and Iran Air, to private ownership. The plan also calls for the dissolution or the privatization of loss-making companies, such as some shipbuilding firms in southern Iran that cannot operate properly due to stiff regional competition.
The Seventh Parliament has changed this article, authorizing maximum 49 percent shares of such companies to be ceded to private ownership, which means these companies will remain under state control at least until 2010, when the fourth plan ends, and that the government has to continue to provide them subsidies and use oil revenues to offset their financial losses.
The fourth plan's efforts to attract foreign investments in other major economic sectors, such as the insurance industry, have also met the same fate.
The plan had also responded to calls by most economic experts to attract more foreign investments in view of the government's limited financial resources to develop various economic sectors. Their hopes were dashed, however, after the Seventh Parliament changed these sections of the fourth plan, too.

TEHRAN, Sept. 8--Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines (ICCIM) chairman here on Wednesday called on the government to delegate the task of implementing the WTO accession project to ICCIM, stressing that the World Trade Organization entry is a must for Iran.
Seyyed Alinaqi Khamoushi told ILNA that Iran must strive to join WTO since the organization wields influence on the global economy.
"We have faced certain challenges to our WTO entry," he said, adding that despite the organization's principles, which negate all forms of politicization, Iran's accession bid is vetoed every time by a big power.
He further noted that Iran's membership application has been blocked by the United States for 17 times now.
"Hence, we expect the government to assign ICCIM with task of undertaking the entry negotiations," he said, stressing that the government's WTO efforts will be futile in view of the political nature of this particular subject.
Khamoushi said ICCIM would take advice from international experts to develop accession talks outside the existing administrative procedures.
Experts contend that the slow pace of privatization will delay Iran's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Privatization setbacks will also convince members of the organization that the Islamic state is unable to open its economy.
The United States continues to block Iran's regular requests to start membership negotiations.
The WTO has not considered applications by Syria and Afghanistan either.
The WTO, which currently has a membership of 147, sets legally binding rules on trade that are designed to give all countries a level playing field for selling their exports. It is currently negotiating a new round that would cut import duties and reduce subsidies. Members hope this will give a boost to the world economy.

TEHRAN, Sept. 8--Iran-Afghanistan water commission met Wednesday for the first time after some 32 years to discuss a 1972 accord defining Iran's share of Hirmand River flow.
According to ISNA, Deputy Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian said at the meeting that consecutive years of droughts have hit areas near the Hirmand River in both Iran and Afghanistan over the past three decades, stressing that the droughts mostly affected the Afghan side.
The official further noted that many people have migrated from the southern province of Sistan and Baluchestan in the wake of the devastating droughts, adding that the governments of Iran and Afghanistan have come to the conclusion that new treaties are needed.
"In 2000 and 2001, the Afghans blocked the river's flow into Iran, which led to a memorandum of understanding between President Mohammad Khatami and Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the need to observe the 1972 Treaty.
Ardakanian further said that the two countries had not formally discussed ways to implement the treaty until the recent meeting of their water commissions.
He said as per the 1972 Treaty, Iran is entitled to 820 million cubic meters of water from the Hirmand River per annum.
"The share would fluctuate according to the level of precipitation," he added.
The official said Iran is ready to help Afghanistan rehabilitate the Kajacki Dam, which was damaged during more than two decades of civil war and Soviet occupation.

TEHRAN, Sept. 8--The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) put the Foreign Exchange Reserve Fund's deposits at $4.6 billion until late July.
According to Fars news agency, some $15.2 billion were deposited with the Foreign Exchange Reserve Fund since it was established in September 2003. Out of this amount, $14.5 billion were generated from oil exports.
The CBI report further noted that some $8.1 billion were withdrawn from the fund until last September.
The fund is used mainly for counterbalancing possible budget deficits brought about by a decline in oil prices. It is also used to render financial facilities to private companies.
The private sector has applied for $8 billion worth of financial facilities from the Foreign Exchange Reserve Fund,
whereas only $2 billion of the amount have so far been paid to applicants.
The government sources say the Foreign Exchange Reserve Fund will continue to allocate funds for private sector investments and creation of jobs, stressing, however, that the fund has primarily been set up to save surplus oil revenues to be used at times oil prices fall.
Oil revenues in the first four months of the current year, commenced in March, were 50 percent above the target set by the budget law for the current year.
The huge rise in oil revenues is the result of record high world oil prices in recent months.
The government's revenues from oil exports have been estimated at 6-7 billion dollars in the period.

YEREVAN, Armenia, Sept. 8--The chairmen of the Iran-Armenia Commission explored ways of expanding ties between the two countries here Wednesday, IRNA reported.
Economic Affairs and Finance Minister Safdar Hosseini, who is the Iranian chairman of the commission, stressed Tehran's firm will to expand bilateral ties, and expressed hope the current visit of Iranian President Khatami to Armenia would further strengthen and expand relations.
He pointed out that major steps have already been taken by the two countries to boost relations in the energy and trade sectors.
He said the volume of trade exchanges of the two countries in the current year shows an increase of 30 percent compared with the figure for last year.
The commission's Armenian chairman, official Artashess Tumanian, who is head of Armenian Presidential Office, said he believes relations between the two countries received a remarkable boost after the visit of the Armenian president to Iran, and expressed satisfaction with ongoing Iran-Armenia joint projects.
He also called for the expansion of mutual ties in agriculture, culture and commerce.
New contracts that are to be signed by the two sides during President Khatami's visit to Yerevan would further enhance relations. President arrived in Armenia on Wednesday morning on the first leg of a three-nation tour of CIS countries.

Presence of Thai oil firms in various sections of Iranian oil industry will have a positive impact on two-way economic cooperation.

TEHRAN, Sept. 8--Visiting Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai called for greater cooperation with Iran in all key economic areas, particularly the energy sector.
The Thai minister, who is in Tehran to attend the Seventh Meeting of Iran-Thailand Economic Commission, told Oil Minister Bijan Namdar-Zanganeh that his country's oil firms are willing to participate in energy projects in Iran.
He further said that the presence of Thai oil firms in various sections of Iranian oil industry will have a positive impact on two-way economic cooperation.
Zanganeh, for his part, said Tehran and Bangkok enjoy favorable relations, stressing that Iran can supply Thailand's increasing need for oil, gas and petrochemicals.
He called for expansion of cooperation in petrochemical trade, saying Iran's petrochemical industry has developed adequately in recent years.
Thailand, a major producer of rice and garments, has in recent years faced an upsurge in demand for hydrocarbon energies in the wake of its struggle for development.
The Southeast Asian country accounted for 80 percent of Iran's rice imports in the past years.
Iran imported 662,000 tons of rice for $135 million from Thailand in 2003, when the value of bilateral trade totaled $212 million.
Excluding Iran's oil exports, bilateral trade balance was in Thailand's favor last year.
Iran can meet Thailand's needs for metals, steel, petrochemicals, oil derivatives, chemical products, textile tissues, fishery products, dried fruits and auto parts.

BUSAN,
South Korea,
Sept. 8--The biggest Internet and telecommunication contract between Iran and South Korea was signed Tuesday in the presence of the visiting Iranian minister of information and communication technology and his Korean counterpart.
According to the Public Relations Office of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, the $40-million contract was reached between two Iranian companies, namely Asia Tech and Arsh, and South Korea's largest telecommunications company Korean Telecom Corporation (KT Corp.).
Under the contract, the KT Corp. will supply network management equipment for the expansion of broadband Internet services in Iran.
The KT-sponsored network will help major Iranian organizations and the banking system to have access to high-speed Internet connection, which is expected to help improve their services.
KT, which controls more than half of South Korea's broadband Internet market with 11 million subscribers, has been aspiring to export software and hardware for high-speed Internet services.

SHAHR-E KORD, Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari, Sept. 8--The fourth Iran-Russia International Agriculture and Natural Resources Conference opened in the University of Shahr-e Kord in this southwestern city on Wednesday.
Officials of the Russian consulate and various ministries in Iran as well as the governor-general of Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari province attended the inaugural ceremony of the three-day conference.
The conference, attended by 650 experts from 19 countries including the heads of research institutes of various countries, is aimed at introducing and discussing the latest and most useful developments in agriculture and natural resources as well as promoting international cooperation and knowledge transfer, the organizer of the conference, Dr. Sadati-Nejad, said.
The conference is organized with the help of the Russian National Academy of Sciences, Iranian Ministry of Science, Research and Technology and Shahr-e Kord University, he said.
Biotechnology, genetics, ecology, sustainable development, water and soil resources are some of the topics to be discussed in the conference.
The US, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, England, Poland, India, Pakistan, China and CIS countries are among the countries which have sent representatives to the conference.
Sadati-Nejad further said that on the sidelines of the conference two exclusive exhibitions are also being held to showcase top scientific and agricultural achievements of domestic and foreign companies.
Three previous conferences on the same subjects have been held in Moscow, he added.
Articles to be discussed in the conference will be exhibited on the sidelines of the conference.
The event is taking place pursuant to an agreement signed by representatives of the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research and Technology and the Russian National Academy of Science during a visit of the Iranian science minister to Russia in 1999.