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Iran presidential hopeful Raeisi vows strong economic management

Tuesday, 18 April 2017 2:07 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 18 April 2017 2:23 PM ]

Iran’s presidential hopeful Hojjatoleslam Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi

A hopeful of the forthcoming presidential election has criticized the ongoing economic situation in the country and “unacceptable” living standards of the people, vowing strong economic management if elected president.

“If our economy is not fragile, structures would be amended and we would become resistant against sanctions and threats and people's business would boom. A strong economic management has the first word in this regard,” Hojjatoleslam Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi said in a meeting with a number of entrepreneurs and representatives of private sectors in Tehran on Tuesday.

He added that the levels of efficiency, economic growth, production rise and job creation are currently not acceptable in the country.

The presidential hopeful stressed that the competent Iranian youth can solve many of the country's problems, saying all strategies must focus on job creation in order to “witness economic growth.”

Raeisi further criticized the performance of the current administration, saying that it has only used “30 percent of the capacity of the country’s experts” and failed to make use of a capacity that would lead to independence.

It is possible to change the situation and conditions in favor of the Iranian people in the economic and social sectors and “save the country’s management and economy,” he said.

Also on Tuesday, Raeisi sent separate letters to incumbent president, Hassan Rouhani, and the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Abdolali Ali Askari, criticizing what he described as the extensive coverage given to the Iranian president on national television.

Raeisi, the current custodian of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (PBUH) in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad, on Friday threw his hat in the ring for the 12th presidential contest, scheduled to be held on May 19.

Addressing the media after registering for the presidential election, Raeisi said the status quo in the country can be changed for the better and added that national economy must be insulated from fluctuations in the global economy.

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