Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.12
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: The Iranian economy minister says the national economy should be re-engineered after lifting the international sanctions.
"The sanctions proved that the national economy was structurally weak and the economy should be re-engineered," Iran's IRNA news agency quoted economy minister Ali Tayyebnia as saying on Aug. 12.
"The sanctions slashed the government's revenues. So, the implementation of development plans faced hurdles."
The domestic production as well as foreign investment decreased. If the national economy was resilient, it would not be shocked by external pressures, he explained.
The oil-dependent economy of Iran was one of the main factors which resulted in stagflation in the country in the wake of the sanctions, he said.
In April, the IMF said Iran's economy had contracted by 1.7 percent in 2013. However, the economy will come out of recession in 2014, the report added.
Business Monitor said in its April report that the Iranian economy will return to growth in 2014, as the improvement in relations with the West and better macroeconomic management will lead to an improved outlook for exports and increased business and consumer confidence.
Recent improvements in relations with the West bode well for the country's economy, which is forecast to expand by 2.9 percent in 2015, according to the report.
On July 26, the administration of President Hassan Rouhani released its new economic policy package for the country to emerge from stagflation.
The administration released a new short-term economic policy to push the country out of the current state of stagflation. This report identifies financial shortages, slump in domestic demand, and fall in investments, besides the unjust sanctions imposed by the West, as the main obstacles faced by the country.