TEHRAN - Iran’s new Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Ehsan Khandouzi has said financing the government and ensuring economic growth are the main priorities of the ministry during his tenure, IRNA reported.

"The main responsibility of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs is to finance the government and ensure economic development using sustainable, safe, and low-risk methods," Khandouzi said on Thursday, the first day of his work as economy minister.

Stating that Iran's economy requires several short-term measures with good effectiveness, the official said: “Of course, these short-term measures must be considered in the long-term path toward economic reform.”

According to Khandouzi, the ministry’s short-term measures include enhancing the role of the Ministry of Economy in macroeconomic policy-making to restore stability to the country's economy, reducing price and currency fluctuations and stabilizing the markets, and then moving rapidly toward economic growth and increasing per capita income.

Helping to rearrange the performance of the Iranian economy with the aim of neutralizing sanctions and to ensure that the Iranian economy is not so fragile and vulnerable is also on the agenda.

He further mentioned his plans for establishing relations with academics, knowledge institutes and interaction with the private sector, and said: "The Ministry of Economy will definitely succeed when it systematically uses the academic and research capacities and experiences of the country’s scholar and specialists, and therefore, we intend to communicate with economic experts and think tanks and raise issues and concerns and address the problems that are most faced by NGOs in the production and export sectors.”

Finally, Khandouzi expressed hope that with the help of the private sector and cooperative institutions, organizations and associations, the Finance and Economic Affairs Ministry will be able to reach its goals and realize its priorities.

EF/MA