Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.8
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
The Iranian administration plans to increase the country's economic growth rate to three percent in the next Iranian solar year, which starts on March 21, IRNA quoted Iran's vice-president for strategic planning Mohammad Baqer Nobakht as saying on February 8.
He emphasized the need for increasing investments and improving efficiency in utilizing financial resources.
The government is determined to reduce the dependence on oil revenues and boost social welfare, Nobakht said.
The economic growth rate was negative in the past two years, he said, adding that the economic growth rate is projected to hit 0.8 percent in the current year.
Iranian Parliament Research Center has released a report, which says Iran's economy contracted three percent during the last Iranian year which ended on March 2013, and it is estimated to contract 1.3 percent more during the current Iranian solar year.
According to the report, an average economic growth during last eight years is 3.52 percent, while Statistical Centre of Iran said earlier that Iran's economy contracted by 5.4 percent during last solar year.
Iran's gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by one percent in 2014, according to the World Bank's newly-released Global Economic Prospects.
The report has predicted 1.8 percent and two percent GDP growth for Iran in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Iran's GDP growth was -1.3 percent in 2013, the report said.