Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Ali Tayyebnia on Saturday once again reiterated his organisation’s plans for an oil-free Iranian economy and said that the Government of “Hope and Prudence” is to cut oil revenues in macro-planning of the national economy.
“Even if the sanctions are lifted altogether, the Government will not go back to the oil-dependent economy,” underlined Tayyebnia.
He made the remarks at the headquarters of the Organisation for Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran and during the induction ceremony of the newly appointed president of OIETAI.
Tayyebnia went on to attribute the main cause of Iran’s low economic growth rate to reliance on oil revenues, adding that imposition of US-EU sanctions on Iran along with mounting pressure on the Iranian economy and restriction of economic activities have surprisingly benefited the country as they helped reveal the strength and weakness of Iran’s economy and how deep it depended on oil revenues.
Referring to the policies of the resistance economy as declared by the Supreme Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tayyebnia said the policies serve as the basis for the planning policies in the three branches of government as they are designed to achieve a steady, durable and flexible growth.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Tayyebnia urged all to try to overcome recession, calling for both supply and demand to be strengthened for this purpose.
“Fortunately, the countries of the region offer one of the most favourable markets for Iranian goods and labour force, representing a good destination for different kinds of Iranian goods and services, especially technical and engineering services,” said the minister.
He described the international atmosphere as fast improving in Iran’s favour since the 11th Government came to power. The number of tourists visiting Iran has increased remarkably over the last few months. The volume of inbound tourists, he noted, enjoyed a 2.5-fold growth in the first quarter of this year (starting March 21) and the hotels are expected to run to their full capacity by the end of this summer.
Tayyebnia also referred to foreign countries’ interest in investing in Iran’s auto industry and announced Iran would open the door for cooperation with foreign investors in the industry to improve quality of the cars manufactured in the Islamic Republic, with or without partnership of domestic auto manufacturers.
As far as petrochemical industries and the oil and gas related industries and even tourism industry are concerned, Iran is interested in foreign investment, said the Iranian Finance Minister.
Tayyebnia said that during his visit to Qatar various foreign investors had voiced their strong willingness to build five-star hotels in Iranian cities.
He said that signs of growth of the national economy and its recovery from recession are already here
