TEHRAN – Representatives of the Iranian private sector, in a meeting of the heads of the country’s chambers of commerce, called on the government to prepare the Seventh National Development Plan with a regional viewpoint.

The meeting of the Council of Heads of Chambers was held in the presence of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) board members as well as the secretary generals and heads of provincial chambers of commerce, ICCIMA portal reported.

The attendees of this meeting discussed the country’s current economic issues and problems regarding the national budget bill for the next Iranian calendar year (begins on March 21, 2021), as well as the issuance of commercial ID cards along with the Seventh National Development Plan.

In the meeting, the ICCIMA Head Gholam-Hossein Shafeie, emphasized that the Seventh National Development Plan should provide the basis for the development of the country's economy, saying: “The ICCIMA Research Center is reviewing this plan in collaboration with the country’s economic experts and the Planning and Budget Organization (PBO) to make specific proposals for a better preparation of the mentioned plan.”

“What we have seen over the years in terms of development plans has been the preparation of a single prescription for all provinces. While we believe that in formulating the seventh development plan, the view of planners should be regional,” Shafeie stressed.

The ICCIMA head further explained: "Each province is different in terms of natural resources, and for this reason, first provincial development plans should be formulated according to the capacities of each province and then a comprehensive national plan should be prepared and implemented based on these sub-plans."

The head of the Iran Chamber also stressed that in formulating the seventh development plan, the concentration of power in the center of the country should be dissolved and the role of governors and provincial organizations in different regions should be increased and they should participate in drafting the seventh development plan.

EF/MA