TEHRAN – Iranian industry, mining and trade minister said the government should activate and exploit all the capacities of the country’s private sector in order to boost the non-oil exports.

Speaking in a meeting with senior officials from Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), Reza Rahmani said export is the leading factor in the country’s economic development and “We need to activate all the capacities of the country’s private sector for improving exports.”

“Whenever, private bodies such as Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA), the Chamber of Co-operatives and Iran Chamber of Guilds are fully active in the field and are shown the necessary support, we can safely say that Iran's export has entered a developmental phase,” Rahmani stressed.

The official further suggested some solutions for increasing the exports by the private sector including regional segmentation, creation of legal and competitiveness platforms, and elimination of unnecessary regulations.

Mentioning some of the restrictions imposed on the country's economy by U.S. sanctions, Rahmani said: “Expansion of [non-oil] exports can break even the toughest sanctions, and I assure you that we will pass through these tough conditions as well."

Since the re-imposition of the U.S. sanctions, the Iranian industry ministry has been taking necessary measures for supporting domestic production and increasing exports.

Back in August 2019, Rahmani unveiled a master plan for promoting domestic production and increasing exports in the current Iranian calendar year (ends on March 20, 2020).

Coming under seven major axes, the ministry’s program mainly focuses on developing and supporting domestic production as well as expanding exports to the neighboring countries.

EF/MA