Investment Priorities in the Industrial Sector of East Azerbaijan Province with a view to Sustainable Development: Application of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Models

The first step of the development process is planning, which in turn requires the knowledge of facilities and capabilities of the environment and the sector. In other words, in national development planning, knowing the structure and condition of regions is one of the most important factors. Correspondingly, allocating budget resources to priority areas will increase the efficiency of these expenses. The recognized relative advantages of the regions in terms of employment, added value, and exports, along with effective incentives for investors to enjoy high returns, result in the achievement of macroeconomic goals such as reduced unemployment and increased foreign exchange earnings; that in turn will reduce inflation with minimal resources. The purpose of this study is to prioritize the sub-sectors of the industry of East Azarbaijan Province to achieve the goals of sustainable development by using Vikor, Topsys, Electre, and SAV methods. Accordingly, added value, foreign exchange, employment, productivity, and intensity of consumption of fossil fuels are considered sustainable development criteria. The results show that the first five options of investment opportunities in the province are the repair of machines, production of other machines with special applications, manufacturing of radiation equipment, electromedicine, and electrotherapy. Production of mining and construction machinery and furniture production are considered as preferred industries of the province, and as a result, it is suggested to invest by giving special privileges such as granting facilities, tax exemptions, economic incentives, etc. be directed to these industries.