National Development Fund of Iran is the manifestation of Iran’s political will and determination to move in a new direction. It was established in 2010 and has been enjoying a constant stream of revenues originating from oil and gas exports. With regard to assets under management NDFI ranks 21st among SWFs in the world. Regarding transparency ranking, NDFI has improved from 61 to 28 and considers transparency enhancement, along with good governance, ethics and international criteria as its lifelong targets and puts them top on its agenda.

The creation of a sovereign development fund in Iran dates back to 14 years ago, when Iran established an Oil Stabilization Fund (OSF) to shield the country against severe hard currency revenue fluctuations . NDFI, set up in 2010, is the result of experiences of OSF and in coexistence with OSF, is mandated to invest for sustainable development and decrease disparities among the regions of the country.