President Hassan Rouhani expressed hope that the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program would be resolved based on the established principles of the Islamic Republic but said a nuclear settlement would not be the solution to all problems.
Rouhani made the remarks during an Iftar (breaking fast) dinner, in celebration of the holy month of Ramadan, in Tehran on Thursday, attended by deputy ministers and governors, Fars news agency reported.
“Getting to the bottom of the nuclear issue could pave the way for the government to solve other problems,” he noted.
Rouhani said officials are set to endeavor to resolve the existing issues whether or not a nuclear accord is clinched.
The president said when he took office nearly two years ago his government was faced with a pile of debts and liabilities inherited from the previous administration.
At the time, the country was experiencing numerous problems such as recession, inflation, economic instability and market volatility, he explained.
In 2012, the Iranian economy began to go into recession because of adoption of wrong economic policies, the sanctions imposed on the country and an overnight depreciation of the national currency to less than one third of its previous value.
Although the current administration has tried to establish stability, it is still grappling with some of the remaining problems, said Rouhani, adding that the government spends most of its time on solving the crisis inherited from the past. He hoped his government could mitigate economic pressure on the people’s lives.
As part of the solution to current issues, he said the government aims to transfer semi-finished construction projects to the public through simple legal conditions.
The measure, he said, aims to boost employment by creating job opportunities and help complete projects in acceptable time frames.
Rouhani also said a solution should be worked out to eliminate the bottleneck created by bank debtors who mostly emerged due to the poor economic conditions resulting from the recession.
Noting that government revenues in the current Iranian year (started March 21) hardly match with the approved budget, he called for cutting expenses, making use of available potential in the private sector, enhancing non-oil exports and greater contribution to free and special economic zones to help overcome the challenges.
He called for measures to set the stage for attracting foreign investment.
