The economy will improve visible progress in the second half of the Iranian fiscal year ending in March 2016) pursuant to the economic incentive package due to be unveiled by the end of the week, President Hassan Rouhani told a public rally in the northern Mazandaran Province on Monday.
Highlighting the fact that the unveiling of the incentives comes even before the international sanctions are removed, he said, "The only reason why we went to the nuclear negotiating table was to promote the people's welfare and to safeguard national interests. Moreover, creating jobs for the youth, whose untapped potential has not yet been exploited, is of great importance as it is the surest way to achieve economic growth."
The president did not make any reference to the new economic incentives nor say which areas it would cover. Inflation and recession have taken a high toll on the national economy for yeas due largely to the sanctions, gross mismanagement and the steep decline in intentional oil prices.
Criticizing the powerful opponents of the nuclear accord with the big powers, the president said, “Providing people with decent welfare is my administration’s top priority and we are determined to develop science and technology in order to curb the brain drain.”
In another part of his address to the large crowd in the city of Sari, Rouhani referred to the influx of foreign economic delegations in the past three months to assess the prospects for reengaging with the 80-million Iranian market.
“All of us take great pride in our homeland’s progress. A sense of optimism about our future success prevails as plans have been made to attract foreign investment in the post-sanctions era to help stimulate the economy.”
According to the president, Iran’s nuclear diplomacy is praiseworthy as it managed to resist the world powers and their pressure tactics and stop the United Nations Security Council from passing a new resolution to allow war against Iran.”
Rouhani believes a new era has emerged in the country in which nothing beats diplomacy because long gone are the days when “sanctions middlemen” took undue advantage of their connections and harmed the people and the national economy.
“During the sanctions period (during the past two years of the present government) our nation bit the bullet and let my government run the country smoothly despite the lowest oil prices in decades,” he stated, expressing the hope that inflation’s downward trend would continue despite the existing challenges.
Stressing the critical need for maintaining national unity in the post-sanctions era, Rouhani said, “Social integrity and political harmony are among the most crucial factors under the current circumstances. If it were not for the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s clear and direct guidelines, we would never be able to sign such a historic deal.”
Two years of marathon talks between Iran and the P5+1 (five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) culminated in a historic deal on July 14, which will end sanctions against Iran in return for temporary limits on its nuclear program.
