Tying Economy to Foreign Events a Strategic Mistake

EghtesadOnline; Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei advised against linking the country’s domestic economy to foreign developments, describing it as “a strategic mistake”.

News ID: ۷۵۰۷۹۵

24 August 2020

In a video conversation with President Hassan Rouhani and his Cabinet on the occasion of Government Week, the Leader said economic plans should not be tied to international events such as the removal of sanctions or the result of a certain country’s elections.

“It should be assumed that sanctions will continue for like 10 years, and so focus on domestic capacities and prospects,” he was quoted as saying by Leader.ir.

Ayatollah Khamenei was referring to sanctions that US President Donald Trump reimposed on Iran after pulling the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal two years ago.

Trump is running for reelection in November, competing against Democratic candidate Joe Biden who has promised to rejoin the nuclear deal if Iran first resumed compliance.

The Leader once again highlighted the importance of domestic production as key to resolving the current economic issues arising from the sanctions, such as inflation, devaluation of national currency, unemployment and problems affecting people’s livelihood.

He advised the incumbent administration, which is in its final year, to use this last opportunity to serve the nation in the best possible way.

“The government should absolutely not see this [final] year as extra time,” he stressed.

According to the Leader, an important duty of the government is to remove obstacles in the way of production, such as unrestricted import or the import of luxury goods.

“Although the removal of certain obstacles, such as sanctions or [foreign buyers’] refusal to return Iranian oil revenues, is out of the government’s control, many hurdles are of domestic origin and need to be cleared through vigorous work,” he said.

Ayatollah Khamenei called for measures against smuggling in collaboration with the judiciary and armed forces to help facilitate production.

Lack of coordination at lower levels, complex bureaucratic procedures for obtaining permits and difficulties of receiving bank loans are among other issues facing domestic production that the Leader urged the government to address.

He once again put forward his previous suggestion of establishing a workgroup by the heads of the three branches of power to identify and remove barriers to boosting production.

The Leader also pointed to the massive sale of raw and unprocessed material as a major loss to the country’s economy that needs immediate attention.

“The private sector, which has the required capabilities and assets, need to be encouraged to invest their capital by addressing issues related to taxation, licenses and bank loans,” he said.

Ayatollah Khamenei stressed the need to direct liquid assets toward the production sector and suggested forming an expert group to devise methods for this purpose.

Measures should also be taken to improve the value of the national currency, according to Ayatollah Khamenei, as it is directly connected to production capacities, the country’s economic power and people’s livelihood.

At the end of the videoconference, Rouhani and four members of his Cabinet presented a report on the government’s performance and future plans.