Themaindirectfinancialinvestmentis the substantialresearchprojectsrelated to the nationalstrategies in the basicresearchfields where the marketfailureis moreserious.
This, together with restrictive labour regulations, means that there is little non-oil foreign directinvestment in Iran, except for pilot projects in the free-trade zones.
She told the Senedd that direct government investment was her preferred means of funding projects, but there was a "strong economic case" to seek other sources of money where the benefits outweighed additional costs.