It is the obligation of all authorities to create an environment conducive to stimulating domestic production, President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday, calling for a continued fight against poverty and unemployment.
Promoting home-made products is another major responsibility on officials' shoulders, Rouhani stated during a meeting with a number of senior officials in Tehran after holidays marking the new Iranian year, which has been called the year of "Support for Iranian Products".
"The government has taken valuable steps toward creating employment, combating poverty, rooting out extreme poverty and narrowing the gap between the high- and low-income sectors of society, and these measures will continue at full speed," the president was quoted as saying by his official website.
Communications Tools
He also said the country's authorities have a duty to improve the welfare of all citizens through various means, including providing access to communications tools of their choice.
Reports are making the rounds that top decision-making bodies may block the popular Telegram messenger service for reasons of national security and replace it with a similar local system.
Some officials criticized Telegram's "destructive" role in recent anti-government protests. The app was temporarily shut down during the demonstrations, but some users reached it through proxies and VPN services.
Rouhani said, "Having efficient, secure and inexpensive Iranian messaging services that can address the people's problems and requirements will undoubtedly be a source of pride for everyone. However, the intent behind creating and upgrading homegrown software and messengers should not be to restrict or block access [to other tools]. Rather, it should be done with the purpose of breaking the monopoly in messaging services."
Regional Policy
In addition, the president touched upon Iran's regional strategies, saying that the country will continue to stick by its policy of "engaging constructively" with neighboring states.
"The country will definitely benefit more from interacting with neighbors and the world, and this policy will be pursued more seriously, particularly in the year of support for manufacturing Iranian products," he added.
Syria Summit
In line with Tehran's efforts to resolve the situation in war-torn Syria, Rouhani is scheduled to take part in a three-way summit on the Arab country along with his Turkish and Russian counterparts in Ankara on Wednesday.
The meeting follows the first tripartite summit between Rouhani, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin of Russia in Sochi last November, according to AFP.
