President Mohammad Khatami sent a message to the First Conference on the Role of Woman Entrepreneurs in the Country's Commercial Affairs here on Tuesday.

TEHRAN, June 7--President Mohammad Khatami said the country's developing economy should not overlook the need for employing women, stressing that his administration has in the past eight years tried to prepare the ground for an improvement in women's academic and social status.
In a message to the First Conference on the Role of Woman Entrepreneurs in the Country's Commercial Affairs, which opened here on Tuesday, the chief executive said women enjoy a great potential to become managers.
"In recent years, women entrepreneurs have worked more actively than men," he said, adding that Iranian women have been involved in social and economic affairs shoulder-to-shoulder with men throughout history.
He further noted that whenever Iranian women have had a chance to demonstrate their talent, they have proved to be successful.
"Today, the commercial apparatus of the country could serve as a proper venue for the development of women's activities," he said, adding that women entrepreneurs have to be given the opportunity to join efforts to access modern technologies and prepare the ground for joining global trade.
Khatami said the fourth five-year development plan (2005-2010) has drawn up mechanisms for improving women's professional skills, reforming the male-chauvinist social outlook and boosting their share in macro-level decision-making and managerial positions.

Customs Administration has no problem about operating in free trade zones.

TEHRAN, June 7--Head of Iran's Customs Administration announced here Tuesday that customs services will be fully digitalized in the near future, adding that passengers will no longer need to go to customs offices to obtain clearance, once the digitalization process is completed.
Massoud Karbasian told ILNA that following efforts to implement Automated System for Customs Data (ASICUDA) in customs offices nationwide, 'electronic customs' would materialize.
He further noted that goods entering the country via border areas where there is no customs control will be considered contraband.
"Iran's Customs Administration has no problem about operating in free trade zones and both the customs offices and the FTZs are cooperating to prevent the smuggling of goods," he said, adding, however, that there are certain people who do not want customs offices operating in FTZs.
"Some 98 percent of customs activities at points of imports, exports and transit have already been mechanized," he said.
Meanwhile, Karbasian said Tuesday some 3.3 tons of gold was imported in the year to March 2005, when 5.9 tons of the same product was exported.
He said gold imports reached $47.9 million, while exports hit $59 million.

More than 70 percent of revenues from domestic sales of Persian carpets go to the weavers.

TEHRAN, June 7--As Persian carpet production continues to decline, labor costs have gone up drastically, posing a serious threat to the future of the once lucrative industry, observed a senior carpet industry official here on Tuesday.
Akbar Harischian, who heads Persian Carpet Exporters Association, told ISNA that the country's accession to the World Trade Organization would not have a positive impact on Persian rugs, adding that the industry's experts would meet in the coming weeks to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the sector.
He criticized Iran's Customs Administration for failing to release the latest figures on Persian carpet exports, stressing, however, that estimates suggest that the recession plaguing the international market for Persian rugs would continue.
India, Pakistan, China, Nepal and Turkey are Iran's major rivals in the carpet industry. Experts warn that the failure to combat smuggling of Persian rugs from Iran would place Afghanistan as the country's top rival.
The main challenge facing the once lucrative industry is that Persian carpet weavers are not yet capable of working in an organized manner.
Some 90 percent of IranÕs carpets are produced in rural areas and the weavers know nothing about customersÕ tastes in international markets.
More than 70 percent of revenues from domestic sales of Persian carpets go to the weavers, while rival countries have access to far more inexpensive workforce.
Persian carpets are currently exported to 100 countries.

Iran has the capacity to swap 170,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Russian oil in its northern Neka terminal.

TEHRAN, June 7--A senior Oil Ministry official said here on Tuesday that Iran has proposed that Russian companies willing to participate in two phases of the giant South Pars gas field development project sign buyback deals.
Mohammad Hadi Nejad Hosseinian, deputy oil minister for international affairs, told ISNA that a bilateral gas agreement would be prudent, if the Russians sell Iranian gas in markets other than those with which Iran is involved in gas export talks.
He said Iran is planning to begin work on exploration projects in the Caspian Sea once an accord is reached with littoral states. "We are planning to sign buyback deals with international companies, including Russian firms," he said, adding that during his recent visit to Moscow, the Russians pledged to make their views on participation in Iran's Caspian Sea projects known within four weeks.
He said Iran has proposed that Caspian Sea littoral states explore and develop hydrocarbon resource-rich areas and then get their respective shares once issues related to the legal regime are resolved.
On possible oil swap with Russia, the official said Iran has the capacity to swap 170,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Russian oil in its northern Neka terminal.
"We could increase this to 700,000 bpd, once it turns into an economical project," he said, adding that Iran has offered a 25-year swap deal to Russia.

TEHRAN, June 7--Iran's E-Commerce Center will open by late June, said deputy commerce minister for economic planning and studies.
Farhad Dejpasand told ISNA that the Commerce Ministry has already drawn up the draft articles of association of the center and submitted it to the Management and Planning Organization.
"The center will be established as per Article 80 of E-Commerce Law, which was ratified in 2003," he said, adding that the center will help facilitate trading activities at the domestic and international levels using of modern technologies.
He said the center will also try to develop information communication and technology (ICT), improve information dissemination systems and raise public awareness of e-commerce. The center will also be responsible for planning for training ICT experts, he added.
Dejpasand said the E-Commerce Center will operate as a state institution and its activities will be supervised by the Commerce Ministry.
Earlier, Ministry of Science, Research and Technology announced plans to establish information communication and technology (ICT) departments in universities across the nation.
The move is part of efforts to develop ICT in Iran, where there is growing need for specialized workforce in this field.
There are also plans to increase software exports to $100 million a year by March 2007.
The value of software exports doubled in the year to March 2005 to reach $10.9 million.
Last year, Iran exported software products to Germany, Syria and Zimbabwe.

Total rice production stands at 2.2 million tons per annum whereas annual consumption is almost three million tons.

TEHRAN, June 7--Medical and Agricultural Studies Center of the IranÕs Atomic Energy Organization announced here on Tuesday that Iranian scientists have managed to produce varieties of rice which are resistant to various kinds of pests by using nuclear technology.
Mohammad Reza Ardakani, who heads the center's nuclear agriculture department, told ISNA
that the newly-produced varieties also enjoy high quality in terms of taste and fragrance.
"The project chiefly aims at protecting Iranian rice varieties against blast disease, which reduces the quality of crops," he said, adding this is for the first time that Iranian scientists have used nuclear technology to produce high-quality varieties.
Environmental groups are strongly opposed to the production of genetically modified food.
The Department of Environment (DoE), the main environmental body, has voiced
opposition to plans by agriculture officials to bring 200,000 hectares under cultivation of genetically modified rice.
Iran has announced plans to increase the area under cultivation of genetically modified rice in a bid to boost production with the help of nanotechnology.
However, environmental activists
say genetically modified rice would damage the environment, destroy traditional rice farming and cause health hazards.
Some 620,000 hectares are under regular rice cultivation countrywide.
Iran's total rice production stands at 2.2 million tons per annum whereas annual consumption is almost three million tons.

TEHRAN, June 7--The Sixth International Conference of Quality Managers (ICQM) will be held in Tehran in July, announced the secretary of the event.
Hamid Saraidarian added that the conference will be sponsored by Asia Pacific Quality Organization, the European Center for Total Quality Management and some other regional quality management organizations.
Iranian Society of Quality Managers is responsible for holding the event, which will be held from July 17-20.
He said that some 5,000 delegates participated in the fifth conference in July 2004 making the event the world's largest quality-related event.
"Now, the 6th ICQM will focus on the theme 'Corporate Social Responsibility; A Requirement for Excellence' and will explore specific areas in depth," he said.
Saraidarian said the aim of the conference is to provide a forum for participants to exchange information and experiences concerning approaches, systems and methodologies in the field of quality and quality management.
The conference will provide information on infrastructures, quality system models and quality engineering tools from countries all over the world, particularly Asian states.

Iran will take part in the international tender for constructing a dam and hydroelectric power station project in Benin.

TEHRAN, June 7--Minister of Energy Habibollah Bitaraf and Benin's Minister of Energy, Mining and Water Resources Kamarou Fassassi in a meeting here Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), reported IRNA.
At the meeting, Bitaraf declared Iran's support for joint ventures to be implemented by private enterprises from the two countries.
"The project on a 126-MW BOT thermal power station, two projects on 161-KV power transmission lines and sale of electrical equipment are among the projects included in the document," added Bitaraf.
According to the MoU, Iran agreed to allocate a 20-million-euro credit for rural water supply projects in Benin during President Mohammad Khatami's visit to that country. Meanwhile, Iran will take part in the international tender for constructing a dam and hydroelectric power station project in Benin.