TEHRAN – The heads of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) and the Securities and Exchange Organization (SEO) met on Sunday to discuss avenues of cooperation and ways to facilitate economic development.

As the ICCIMA portal reported, the meeting was also attended by the heads of provincial chambers and ICCIMA specialized committees, as well as, a group of economic operators.

Speaking at the gathering, ICCIMA Head Samad Hassanzadeh said: “In the current economic situation, in addition to the inadequacies and obstacles, some restrictions have been created for the economy due to sanctions, however, we must be able to lead the economy forward with cooperation.”

Stating that the stock market is a base for economic development and growth, Hassanzadeh said: “Iran's economy has been difficult to manage for several years.”

According to the official, the stock exchange should be able to use people's capital in the development path and create added value for these funds without the interference of other institutions.

“The stock market plays a key role in the economy as a platform to provide funding for production units and economic projects,” he stressed.

Elsewhere in the meeting, Hojatollah Seyedi, the head of SEO, underlined the significant role of the private sector and the ICCIMA in the country’s economy and said: “The country’s economy is shaped by the members of the ICCIMA and the private sector. If this part of the economy is active and creates value, the economy will surely grow.”

“Many pressures have been imposed on the country's economy, some of these problems are due to sanctions, and some are due to corporate governance and low productivity. For this reason, the capital formation and economic growth rates have decreased,” he regrated.

Pointing out that according to the 20-year outlook plan, the average annual growth of the country's economy was supposed to reach 8.0 percent by 2025 and Iran would rank first in the region, he said: “The economy faced many adversities and currently, based on the nominal value of capital, we are in the fourth place in the region, after Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and the UAE.”

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Photo: ICCIMA Head Samad Hassanzadeh (L) and TSE Head Hojatollah Seyedi