Abu Dhabi: Iran will offer foreign investors guarantees in a move to sure up economic growth when years of sanctions are expected to be lifted early next year.

“Everything is ready for investment and joint ventures … We’re capable of cooperation and [of] giving guarantees to foreign investments,” Mohammad Reza Fayyaz, the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Arab Emirates, said in an interview at the Embassy in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

Iran reached an agreement in July with six world powers to limit its nuclear programme in exchange for the removal of sanctions that have crippled its economy. The agreement still needs to be approved by the United States Congress and Iranian Parliament but sanctions are expected to be removed in early 2016.

“Many parts of the world are really eager to profit from this … [and] we don’t oppose that,” Fayyaz said.

International companies, including many of the world’s largest multinationals, are seeking a foothold in Iran when sanctions are lifted. But smaller companies with less international exposure may be more cautious of investing in a country that has been under some sort of sanctions for the past 25 years. In 2014, the World Bank ranked Iran 152 out of 189 countries on the easy of doing business.

But Fayyaz said many have misconceptions about doing business in Iran, which he argued is primed for foreign investments.

“An investor should come to Iran and should try and see the reality of its investments … you’ve got all the modern procedures within the aspect of corporations,” he told Gulf News.

Nasser Saidi, founder and president of Nasser Saidi & Associates and former chief economist at Dubai International Financial Centre, recently told Gulf News Iran will need to restructure its entire banking and financial sector with “expertise that is currently not available” if it is to attract foreign investments.

Billions of dollars are expected to be invested in the country to build key infrastructure including roads, housing, airports, and ports. Much will also be spent on its oil and gas industry with the country holding the world’s fourth-largest oil reserves and the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves

“We have got many potentialities … within aerospace, within marine industry, within mines … and airports and rail transports and housing, upgrading the technology of industries,” Fayyaz said.

“Iran is really an excellent arena … both for us and investors,” he added.

The United Arab Emirates is likely to substantially benefit from the lifting of sanctions against Iran. The UAE, home to regional financial and transport hub Dubai, is reportedly Iran’s fourth largest trading partner.

Last year, trade between the two countries reached $18 billion, its highest level since the record $20 billion in 2011 before sanctions began to dent trade relations between the two countries, Fayyaz said.

UAE Minister of Economy Sultan Al Mansouri reportedly said in June trade had reached $23 billion in 2011. Regardless, trade is likely to surge.

The Iranian Embassy in Abu Dhabi believes bilateral trade will double to $40 billion shortly after sanctions are removed before tripling to $60 billion, which is the same level the UAE has with its largest trading partner, India.

Fayyaz said there is potential for trade to increase to as much as $80 billion

“This is really an exceptionally bazaar (market) for [Iran and the UAE],” he said.

The Embassy has been handling an increasing number of enquiries from locally-based companies on how to invest in Iran since details of the nuclear negotiations were first made public in 2013.

Fayyaz said the Embassy is providing guidance on how to invest in Iran but declined to comment on the type of discussions he has had.

Iran’s tourism sector is also expected to surge with the nuclear agreement talks providing the country with a substantial amount of global publicity. Tourism contributed 2.2 per cent to gross domestic product in 2013, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council, compared to as much as 25 per cent before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, according to Saidi.

Iran already attracts a significant number of religious tourists each year with the country having several Shiite Muslim holy sites. But other tourists, attracted by the country’s history and natural scenery, are also likely to head to the country as it re-enters the international community.

Iran welcomes foreign visitors, Fayyaz said, but they should be should be acquainted with Iranian culture before planning their trip.

“We are a religious country. This is a famous thing and everyone knows about that. We don’t want to hide that,” he said.

Iran is a conservative constitutional, theocratic republic based on Shiite Islam.