President Hassan Rouhani took the opportunity of the 36th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution to declare that he has managed to live up to the promises he had made during his presidential campaign back in 2013.
“Last year, I promised you that the economy will step out of recession. Today, I announce that the economy grew by 4% in the first six months of the current year. This is to show the world that the Iranian nation is steadfast in pursuing its way toward progress, “President Rouhani said, addressing a massive gathering of people celebrating the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, in Tehran on Wednesday.
President Rouhani said the economy saw a negative growth during the past two years, hoping that the current year will come to an end with a positive growth.
“The Industry, mine and trade sectors grew by 6.5%, 10.5% and 5.4% respectively in the first six months of the current year,” he added.
Praising the economic performance of his administration, he went on to say: “Economic prosperity emerged with the initiatives that were taken to improve the business environment. As you know the business environment has improved by 22 points in the past year.”
Iran’s Global Entrepreneurship Index is reported to have improved by 22 points, reaching 130 from 152 in the list of 189 countries. Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1–189.
“Customs clearance procedures for export have been reduced from seven days to one day, and for import of essential commodities it has reduced from 26 days to three days,” the president added, referring to the improvement as a major step taken by his administration to further ease Iran’s trade with foreign countries.
He also referred to a 40% increase in the number of loans provided by the government to the manufacturers, saying: “The administration has been able to complete 7,000 unfinished projects. This indicates that Iranians are moving in line with the policies of the resistance economy.”
Exports Up 24%
President Rouhani went on to say that Iran’s non-oil exports rose by 24% during the first ten months of the current year compared with the similar period last year.
“Iran exported $34.3 billion worth of non-oil commodities during the first ten months of the past year. The figure reached $42.6 billion this year in the similar period,” President Rouhani said, further referring to what he called “Iran’s remarkable progress” in oil and gas industries despite western sanctions.
“Crude oil production has increased from 2.7 million to 2.9 million barrels a day,” he added, noting that Iran’s production of natural gas has increased by 100 mcm compared with last year.
The president said his government has been able to lead “massive developments” in the agricultural sector, adding that the number of tractors has increased by 250% and combine harvester by 350%.”
Inflation Below 17%
The president also said his administration has been able to curb the inflation rate and lower it to below 17%.
“Last year, I promised you that we would bring down the inflation rate, which at that time was about 25% to 35%. It is now below 17%,” President Rouhani noted, adding that the government has been able to take significant steps toward development and growth.
“As I promised during the presidential campaign, the government has extended health insurance coverage to include everybody in the country. This year, 8 million people have come under health insurance coverage.”
