Iran

Iran has economic challenges such as high rates of inflation and unemployment, a deteriorating urban environment due to urbanization, environmental destruction and vulnerability to earthquakes. In its fifth five-year plan from 2010 to 2015, Iran includes economic development, regional development, social development, and management and administrative system development as issues to be addressed. JICA is providing assistance to Iran with a focus on: 1) enhancement of domestic industries (enhancement of job creation), 2) reduction of disparities between urban and rural areas (establishment of sustainable agricultural production to increase the income of farmers), 3) environmental preservation (measures for natural environment conservation, global warming and environmental pollution management), 4) water resource management, and 5) disaster management (earthquake preparedness management). Additionally, as Iran has a shared language and culture with neighboring Afghanistan, Afganistan refugees have been coming into Iran for three decades, and so Iran is also providing assistance to reconstruction in Afghanistan.