FNA - Iranian Minister of Science, Research and Technology Mansour Gholami announced on Wednesday that the country has come to stand atop other world nations in the production of different scientific contents in quantitative terms.

"Based on ISI and SCOPUS data, the Islamic Republic of Iran is the first world country in terms of the growth of scientific productions in quantity," Gholami said, addressing the inauguration ceremony of the third workgroup of scientific cooperation between Iran and the EU in Brussels.

"Having over 4.3mln students and high-level universities, Iran is an important actor in area of international science and technology," he added.

Gholami also underlined the necessity for the further expansion of scientific cooperation between Iran and the EU.

Gholami had also stated last month that Iran stands the first place in global rankings for the fastest momentum in production of science.

"Our universities enjoy very good capacities at scientific levels. Certainly, you know that our country has ranked 16th in the production of science and first in rapid production of science in the past year (2017)," Gholami said, addressing the inauguration ceremony of an exhibition of research achievements in laboratorial tools in Tehran.

He added that Iran has outpaced even China and Russia in rapid growth of scientific production.

Gholami said that Iran ranks first in the region in science and technology, noting, "Even we are superior in the world in a number of specialized fields."