“High quality and reasonable prices can give Iranian products a competitive edge in the market where foreign-made goods are also available,” Rouhani said during a meeting with senior officials of the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare in Tehran, his website reported.
He said unemployment is the root cause of all social ills and domestic products of good quality can help resolve this issue.
"National production will increase, if more people buy domestic products," the president said, adding that a strong economy could help cushion the impact of reimposed US sanctions, Financial Tribune reported.
In May, US President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the 2015 multinational nuclear deal that restricted Iran’s nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief and reimposed sanctions on the country’s banking and energy sectors.
Reducing Reliance
“If we want to resist sanctions, we have to work hard and efficiently in order to reduce our reliance on other countries,” Rouhani said, urging the Cooperatives Ministry to redouble efforts to remove obstacles facing local producers.
"Another responsibility of the ministry is to take concrete steps to promote trust between workers and employers, as it could create a positive working environment and boost productivity," he said.
“Another duty that the ministry has is to help equip employees with the required skills through efficient training programs.”
The president also said that his administration has managed to add over 500,000 jobs on average every year and described it as a great achievement.
“We have to create more jobs than required, if we want to bring down unemployment,” he said, adding that over one million jobs should be created every year through further investment.
People’s Livelihood
Rouhani asked the Cooperatives Ministry officials to devise plans and strategies that could help improve the livelihood of salaried workers who are feeling much more pain from sanctions than other segments of the society.
"The authorities concerned should also spare no efforts to provide social security and healthcare benefits to all members of society," he said, promising that his Cabinet will continue to focus on the promotion of e-governance for enhancing transparency and cutting red tape.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the president unveiled a number of systems developed to help make the activities related to the Cooperatives Ministry more transparent and curb corruption.