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Rouhani to Build on Constructive Engagement in Foreign Policy

Rouhani to Build on Constructive Engagement in Foreign Policy
Rouhani to Build on Constructive Engagement in Foreign Policy

A legislator believes the second administration of President Hassan Rouhani will uphold "constructive engagement" in foreign policy and its interaction with the international community.

"Considering the president's declared positions on the campaign trail, it appears that his foreign policy will continue to move the détente track with regional states and other countries," Ardeshir Nourian told ICANA.

More than 23.5 million Iranians reelected the moderate Rouhani in the May 19 vote. Four years earlier he had won the popular poll with over 18 million votes.  

His main rival, principlist Ebrahim Raeisi who contested the vote on a "inward-looking" platform to "revive the sluggish economy," lagged behind with 15.7 million votes.

Nourian, a member of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said spurring a economy fraught with problems must be the focus of the incoming administration.

"The foreign policy apparatus of the next government should invest more effort in forging new economic bonds with the outside world," he said.

Rouhani's first four years in office is defined by the landmark July 2015 nuclear deal, which settled a decades-long dispute with western powers over the nuclear energy program and won Iran relief from international economic , banking and trade sanctions.

Many in Iran hoped the pact would enable the administration to attract foreign investment and high tech seen as crucial for rebuilding the economy saddled with years of sanctions.

However, what has been described as "hostile US approach" and its unilateral sanctions has led to disappointment among many people, including Rouhani's supporters.

One of Rouhani's main campaign pledges is to remove "all the remaining sanctions".

But to deliver, Rouhani should figure out a way to deal with an unpredictable and hawkish US administration led by the controversial Donald Trump, whose highly antagonistic stances against Iran has marked a new nadir in ties between the two antagonistic powers.

 

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