Leader of the Islamic Revolution has urged the government to modify the country’s banking system as well as its budget to reduce dependence on oil revenues and strengthen the economy in the face of US unilateral sanctions.
“Restructuring the budget that the parliament and government are supposed to carry out in the first four months of the year (20 March-20 June) as well modifying the banking system are the two main things that need to be done,” Iran’s Islamic Revolution Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday, addressing heads of the country’s executive, judiciary, and legislative branches as well as other senior officials, parliamentarians, and important figures in the country’s political, social, and cultural spheres.
He stressed that budget’s dependance on crude sales as well as unnecessary rules and regulation are “the country’s chronic illnesses”.
Iranian First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri said on Tuesday that only 30% of the budget’s revenues come from the oil sales.
'Through the efforts that have been made during past years, the budget’s reliance on oil revenues has reduced a lot,' said First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri on Tuesday, addressing the Supreme Council for Science, Research and Technology.
'If some time, 80-90 percent of the government's budget was dependant on oil, this dependency has reduced to 30 percent,' he added.
Talking to high-level Iranain official, Khamenei criticised what he called “tying the country’s economy with decisiones made by others, especially the US”, saying investors and economic operators all postponed their activities because of this.
He called for popular mobilisation in a bid to push the country’s economy towards growth and more production, urging the government to stop dealers and profiteers whose actions have caused havoc in the market.
He named the new Persian year 1398 (20 March-20 March 2019) as the Year of Production Growth.
“Removing the obstacles on the path of production growth by using young especialists will also generate more jobs, reduce inflation, bring about more welfare and boost exports,” Khamenei added.
The Iranian leader urged the Minsitry of Industry, Mine and Trade (MIMT) to list the necessary raw materials and machinery in a bid to stop the closure of factories that have been affected by the unilateral US sanctions.
According to the Ayatollah Khamenei Iran should move toward becoming autosufficient in production of vital goods and commodities such as wheat and the fuel, highlighting the role of recently-inaugurated Persian Gulf Star Refinery.
The third phase of Persian Gulf Star Refinery, the largest gas processing plant in the world, was opened in February to make the country self-sufficient in gasoline production.
The plant, the first of its kinds in the Middle East, has a processing capacity of roughly 360,000 barrels of gas condensate a day within three 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) distillation units.
The refinery will produce high-quality gasoline in order to make Iran self-sufficient in gasoline production. It’s fourth phase will also enable the nation to export gasoline and other high-value products to foreign countries.
Khamenei stressed that government should pay close attention to the agricultural sector as it will not only generate jobs but also supply the country’s staples.
Recent floods that have wreaked havoc in vast parts of the country, inundating large swathes of farms and industrial units.