TEHRAN - The newly approved Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Seyyed Reza Fatemi Amin has set his short-term priorities for the ministry on the first day of his office on Thursday.

Emphasizing the role of the private sector in production, employment and investment, attention to market regulation, exports and the removal of barriers to domestic production were among the short-term plans and the main priorities of the minister, ISNA reported.

Talking to the press on the sidelines of a meeting with the former Minister Alireza Razm Hosseini, Fatemi Amin noted that 36 new improvement programs have also been defined to be implemented along with the mentioned priorities.

He pointed to achieving an effective structure and mechanism for the management of industry and mining sectors as one of the goals of this ministry and underlined the completion of the country’s comprehensive trade system as one of the important programs that the ministry would pursue.

“Completion of this system makes it possible to monitor the flow of production and distribution of goods and makes it possible to predict and make timely decisions,” Fatemi Amin said.

He further announced the holding of numerous meetings with officials and managers of the bodies related to the industry, mining and trade fields and stated: “Considering the importance of the interaction between the two ministries of industry and agriculture in resolving issues related to market regulation, a meeting with the Agriculture Minister is on the agenda and I hope that with the strong cooperation of these two ministries, many issues in the field of market regulation will be resolved.”

In another part of his remarks, the minister pointed out the significant role of the private sector in the country’s production, trade and export and noted that the private sector, businesses and non-governmental enterprises play a major role in the field of production and trade.

“If we are concerned about production, employment, and investment in the country, these sectors should be considered. The government should try to provide the necessary conditions and requirements for their activities,” he stressed.

By identifying priorities, the government tries to urge the private sector to plan in accordance with these priorities, and in the next stage, it supports them in achieving these goals, the official said.

EF/MA