Iran should pursue a long-term policy of détente with the world, depoliticize its economy, avoid over-reliance on Russia and China if it wants to safeguard its national interests and diversify from oil, says an economic expert.
“Hostility toward any country is not constructive for us. A country like Iran, which aspires to develop industrially and economically and reduce its reliance on oil as the main source of revenue, should put détente on its agenda because these objectives can only be achieved by taking advantage of other countries’ technology,” Mohammad-Qoli Yousefi also told the Iranian Diplomacy website in a recent interview.
He believes “minimizing tensions” with the rest of the world can help make the country thrive and that excessive dependence on Russia and China does not hold the key to resolving growing domestic economic problems.
“We should definitely not rely on these countries for a long term. Our decision to move closer to these two actors under the existing conditions and pressure should be temporary because continued relations [only] with Russia and China will definitely not have any substantial benefit for the economy in the future,” he said.
Iran has sought to readjust its policy to tilt closer to the East in order to circumvent and blunt the impact of sanctions, which the United States reimposed on the country last year after pulling out of the nuclear deal signed between Tehran and world powers in 2015.
The expert maintains that Moscow and Beijing may have political and diplomatic differences with Washington, but cannot afford to underestimate American dominance in the international economy and will reduce their economic ties with Tehran, sooner or later.
National Interests
Yousefi, who is a university professor, added that there are no “permanent” friends or enemies for any country and the only thing that is permanent is “national interests”.
“In order to advance these interests, we have to engage economically with all countries, a kind of interaction that would serve the interests of all sides,” he said, adding that stronger economic relations with other regional and international players would help defuse tensions and remove the shadow of war.
“No country can replace any other country. That is why China and Russia will not be able to fill the vacuum created by the absence of the western bloc in Iran’s economy,” he said.
The economic analyst noted that the quality of European and American products and technology is much higher than those of China and Russia, so part of Iran’s interests lies in the West.
Yousefi stressed that “depoliticization of the economy” should be taken seriously, as it is vital for maintaining and developing relations with all countries and overcoming economic challenges.
