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(President Seyyed Mohammad Khatami's Interview with the IRIB)
Entekhab (Morning Daily)
Sept. 5, 6, 7, 1999
Summary: In a recent exclusive interview with the national television
(Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting), President Mohammad Khatami defended the current
programs and policies of his government and those adopted since he took office almost 28
months ago.
The president underlined the fact that the economic, political and social development are all interlocked, and no one should reasonably expect for the government to solve the nation's economic problems without first addressing very basic and important political and social issues, which directly affect any progressive economic agenda the country wish to take in.
Khatami further noted that, for the first time ever, the Islamic Revolution successfully provided a religiously and popularly-mandated political system in which the people's vote would determine the fate of the country through an elected government, and most of all, a constitution in which the duties of all three branches of the government are clearly specified.
Khatami finally warned that political factionalism should be avoided. The failure of the Constitutional Movement and also August 1953 coup d'etat should be lessons to all those who use divisive words and advocate violence to promote their shortsighted, selfish agenda without putting the national interest first.
What follows here is the full text of the interview and the president's answers to the questions posed.
Text:
Q: MR. PRESIDENT, LAST WEEK WAS THE GOVERNMENT WEEK, PROVIDING A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO OUTLINE THE PERFORMANCE OF THE GOVERNMENT IN THE PAST YEAR. BUT, IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO REVIEW THE GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS SINCE IT WAS FORMED TWO YEARS AGO. OF COURSE, IT IS ALSO APPROPRIATE TO MAKE MENTION OF THE TWO PROMINENT MARTYRS OF THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTION, MARTYR MOHAMMAD ALI RAJAEI [FORMER PRESIDENT] AND MARTYR MOHAMMAD JAVAD BAHONAR [FORMER PM] AND EXEMPLARY MODELS THEY HAVE BEEN TO THE NATION AS AT THE HIGH-RANKING GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. FURTHER, THE COMPILATION OF THE THIRD FIVE YEAR DEVELOPMENT PLAN HAS BEEN FINISHED AND IT IS NOW READY TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE ISLAMIC CONSULTATIVE ASSEMBLY (MAJLIS) FOR ITS APPROVAL.
AT THIS TIME LAST YEAR, THE ECONOMIC REHABILITATION PLAN (ERP) WAS FIRST OFFERED. BEFORE GOING INTO DETAILS OF THESE ISSUES, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU TO OFFER YOUR ASSESSMENT OF THE PROGRAMS AND PROGRESS IN THEIR MATERIALIZATION OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS.
A: In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. I am glad to find an [another] opportunity to talk with the honorable people of Iran although on various occasions during my trips to various parts of the country I have tried to maintain my contact with people and give them briefings.
I, too, honor the memory of the great martyrs of the government and the country, Martyr Rajaei and Martyr Dr Bahonar as well as all other martyrs of the government, who were model statesmen serving the Islamic Republic of Iran. If we put the number of Cabinet ministers and their deputies at 30 overall, it can be said that the government has proportionally dedicated more martyrs than other sectors of the society.
This shows that since the very beginning the governments of the Islamic Republic, not only have they [those working in the government] spared no efforts to serve the people, but they have also been vanguards in making sacrifice. I hope we could be true followers of the path of these beloved ones. I also give my highest respect to the souls of all martyrs of the Islamic Revolution and the noble nation of Iran and hope that the Almighty God will bestow patience, dignity and health to their bereaved families and that their children will follow the path of their fathers.
It is not [really] possible to speak about the success or failure of a government in a 1-2 hour session. Only the important highlights can be mentioned. Of course, I believe that more should have been said to the people [to keep them better informed of the economic situation]. We have always been focusing all our time and attention on working out effective and reliable strategies which have been manifested both in ERP and now in the Third Development Plan which will, God willing, be submitted to the Majlis soon.
Of course economic issues are [very] important matters in the society. The programs which I have offered include economic issues, particularly those concerning social justice and moving towards fundamentally restructuring and improving the economy, which in my opinion was ill before the last presidential election. Unless the economy is fundamentally improved, all work now being done [by the government] will get nowhere and we will not attain our desired results.
However, I should remind you that although it is true that the economic issues is the most tangible and most obvious problem in the everyday life of people and, therefore, the government has spent most of its time and energy on economic issues and finding ways of solving them, this does not mean that other issues are less important.
In my on programs all issues have been dealt with from various aspects. We should ask how is it possible for us [Iran] to have economic growth and development in a society which is backward with respect to science and technology? Economic growth and [social] development are linked with scientific and technical development. In other words, in a developed country, [further achievements in] technical and scientific development is not only a target and an indication of the society's progress as well, it also directly affects the economic growth and its trend. Is it possible for us to attain economic growth and development while having a society that is not fully and actively participating in the political process. In other words, [What will happen when] the society at large does not feel being directly involved in the county's major economic activities?
Therefore, [it should be noted that] there will be public contribution [to the economy] only when we have political development. This means that people come to believe that they have rights and so choose to play a part in the decision-making process which will affect their lives. Obviously the [Political development and economic progress] are inseparable.
The idea of economic development without scientific, technical, cultural and political development is simply meaningless.
Government has spent considerable time on economic issues
Q: LET ME RAISE MY NEXT QUESTION THIS WAY THAT IN DEALING WITH OR GIVING PRIORITY TO CERTAIN ASPECTS INCLUDING POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT, HAVE YOU PAID LESS ATTENTION TO OTHER ASPECTS SUCH AS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT?
A: As I said before, most of our time have been spent on economic issues while at the same time we also put efforts on cultural, political and even diplomacy and foreign policy matters. I consider these issues to be inseparable. Let me give more explanations in order to make it known what is my picture [my perspective] of our society from historical, cultural and economic points of views and what cultural, political and cultural work should be done to remedy the problems facing the country.
We have had a country with a `single-product' economy and over the past 30-40 years. Many defects and shortcomings of the economy were covered up by oil revenues. We [the nation] failed to develop industries which would manufacture high-quality products, reduce our need for imports and [at the same time is capable of] competing with those of the other countries on the international markets.
For example, today's [technology] is now moving in a direction which [there could soon be] a vehicle which consumes 5-6 liters of gasoline per 100 kilometers while our home-made cars consumes at best 12 to 13 litters of gasoline for the same distance. This is because we had oil revenues and covered up many of our shortcomings [rather than keeping up with advanced technology]. We lived in a society whose private sector was not so active in the fields of production and investment. Why? Because, owners of capitals prefer to get involved in activities which have less risks and [much] higher profits, all within a short period of time. Why here money is being channelled towards intermediary or brokerage activities.
[These days] one can become millionaire over night or make billions of tomans in profits only in a few minutes through a simple telephone call without even having a office or leaving accounting records. Moreover, why investors do not make investment in manufacturing fields where the taxes to be paid and the profits made are all clear. Does this have an economic reason? In my opinion, the main reason for this trend in out country [middlemen activities and speculations in market] is a cultural and political one. In other words, people's distrust in the `stability' of a country [how a country is run and how the society is set up].
From historical point of view, our society has been subjected to despotism. Ruling dynasties were uninvited guests which came to power without the consent of people and paid no attention to people's demands. They enjoyed absolute power and ruled by force. What expected from people was [complete] obedience and submission. Over the past 200 years, however, this problem has further exacerbated. In other words, domestic despotism has become dependent on foreign colonialism. The interests of foreign powers used to be safeguarded in this country by these imposed [foreign controlled] governments.
What is the role of people in such a society? What is the role of government? The ruling regime is the main power [absolute power] and people has no part to play and are obedient to the political system. This mentality has been shaped in the course of history.
Thus, All our days [of freedom] stem from the Islamic Revolution and every day is the "Day of Revolution [it could be said].
I hereby declare that the Islamic Revolution has extraordinary advantages that can be discussed. It has had its own difficulties. But I am in the belief and have emphasized time and again that the revolution changed the situation and put an end to our long historical suffering from despotism. People were given their rights and were reminded that they should believe in themselves. Hence they elect a government they voted for and their vote is final.
I do not intend to enter into scientific discussion to see whether people's vote has a part in the legitimacy of the [current] system of government or not. Of course, we could talk about its legitimacy based on religious doctrine. Political legitimacy, on the other hand, is an academic subject which should be discussed at its proper place later. I may hold some views in this regard, but I want to say that in our Islamic Revolution, people's vote is the determining factor. This revolution became victorious due to the people's vote and not due to a single group or individual relying on military force.
[Once again] People's vote has a pivotal role [in the Islamic Republic]. The Islamic Revolution, in the name of Islam confirmed the people's right to decide their own destiny and this right is observed in all institutions of our system. For example, the article 107 of Iran's constitution focuses on the most important `pillar' of our system which is the principle of leadership. It reads "After the prominent marja and great Leader of the universal revolution of Islam and founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, his eminence grand Ayatollah Imam Khomeini, who has been recognized as the marja and Leader by the absolute majority of people, it is the responsibility of the Assembly of Experts, who themselves are elected by the people, to elect the next leader."
This means that our constitution has confirmed the Imam's leadership because it has been recognized and accepted by the majority of people. Furthermore, the leader who succeeds the Imam after him is elected by the Assembly of Experts who themselves are elected by people's vote. Then, [it is clear] that all pillars of our political system stem from people's vote, directly or indirectly.
Rejection of a dark period
This revolution rejected a long `dark period' of people's absence from the scene. Later however, There were extraordinarily efforts by the Imam to hold a referendum for the confirmation of the constitution by people and to base all organs of the system on this constitution. Well, if people are the pivot, grounds should be prepared for their [active] presence on the [political] scene, necessary facilities be provided for their contribution to the affairs and there should also be monitoring means [to make sure that the process functions smoothly]. In other words, legal freedoms should be provided. To this end, political development has a strong theoretical basis.
Moreover, due to the fact that in a politically and culturally less developed society, one cannot expect a sustainable economic development. What should be done to eliminate this historical mentality of ours and place everything in its own place. Who determines this?
In despotic systems of government, this is determined by personal preferences of the ruling regime while in popular [democratic] systems by a law agreed upon by all or [at least] an absolute majority of people, which is called [imbedded] the constitution. Of course, this was taken into consideration by the Imam for less than one year after the victory of the revolution, the constitution was enforced [drafted and put to vote]. Every thing was in its place.
What does it [the institution] mean? It means that the judiciary should not get involved in politics, the executive branch should not carry out judicial or legislative work, the legislature should do its work within its jurisdiction, military and law enforcement forces should serve the national interests beyond factionalism. Meanwhile, those speaking from podiums should observe their limits, and not attribute their own preferences to Islam or freedom. They should speak within the framework of law.
Moreover, in order for political development to be materialized, besides legal institutions, there should be well-identified groupings [parties] which can speak within their legal limits and capacities, each acting as a spokesman for various segments of our society. They should in fact act as middlemen between well-organized ruling body, which if not controlled [supervised], will [probably] move the country towards dictatorship.
Now if people play the key role and if everything is for people, we should certainly regard political development as a pivot and principle. Of course this should not lead us to neglect economic issues, nor should we think that without paying attention to this matter or other [crucial topics] economic issues can be resolved on their own.
Society did not experience a democratic system before the Revolution
Furthermore, our society due to its historical mentality has a kind of difficulty [for it has never experienced] a people-based [democratic] system of government [before the revolution]. Now, the condition is ripe to establish such a system in this country. This system means people's presence on the scene, political development, cultural development and of course economic development. Fortunately, the people-based system is based on the faith and ideals of the majority or people in our society. We can no longer say that this has been brought from the West or the East.
A people-based system is a phenomenon accepted by Islam and turned into the constitution. Two important factors had impeded realization of this idea: first is our `historical mentality' and the second is [past] foreign intervention in the country's affairs.
As you see [know] our nation has had good political and cultural growth compared to its similar nations in the Islamic world. The idea that Iran is the most advanced country in the "Third World", which I do not believe it now exists, is irrelevant and beside the point.
Here I should point out that we have the [unfortunate] experience of Constitutional Movement. There were two factors of wrong mentality [approach] and the society's lack of preparedness as well as lack of vigilance particularly on the part of the elite as well as intervention of foreign powers [which led to the movement's failure].
"The Constitutional Movement was the first "Civil Society" in Iran whose charter was written by prominent Shia scholar Allama Grand Ayatollah Na'ini and it is a source of honor for Shiism and Shi'ite jurisprudence. The Constitutional Movement was aimed at conditioning the government's authority on the people's will and under their supervision. It is a source of honor for us that our Islamic ideology has determined this. However, the movement led finally to the dictatorship of Reza Khan [Reza Shah, the founder of the Pahlavi Dynasty] due to the wrong mentality and foreign interferences as mentioned earlier.
As you know, after the Shahrivar of 1320 (September 1941) a [political] atmosphere prevailed in the country. [we should pay attention] to the divisive comments that were spoken, so much violence and turbulence that took place.
We later witnessed that the convergence of well wishing forces of this country particularly religious forces resulted in establishment of a popular and nationalist government. There were also the same infighting, the same violence and the same divisive words and later intervention of foreign powers which led to the 28th Mordad (August 1953) incident [coup d'etat].
The revolution was launched under such conditions. Our revolution has constitution and freedom as well. I want to say that whenever we talk about freedom we mean correct [real] freedom and the people's sovereignty. Again the said historical mentality and foreign intervention have caused troubles for us [all along].
Fortunately, 20 years after the victory of the revolution, we have managed to overcome hard crises. We have left behind the war years and gone is the time of the assassination [during the early years of the revolution]. We [the nation] enjoy good prestige in the world without abandoning our principles. In my opinion, we are now in the period of stability. We should be vigilant however.
Here I want Iranian writers and scholars, instead of arguing or finding fault with one another come and find out why a popular system has not been established in Iran. Either it is because of people's religious pessimism and beliefs [about democratic values] which fortunately both during the Constitutional Movement and the Islamic Revolution, [it was proven not to be so]. It is indeed the public's loyalty to Islam that is based for a popular political system. Or, on the other hand, [the failure of democratic systems being implemented] is because of `wrong thinking', shortsightedness or false interpretation of freedoms. Now again one [group] says liberty means laxity, non-compliance with religion; the other noted that religion is against freedom.
These arguments are [regretfully] now taking place. We should put aside these [useless] talks and move in a direction to find out what [social and cultural] defects and shortcoming exists that would encourage some people to create an environment that the enemies would take advantage of whenever freedom and people's right to decide their own fate are discussed in this country. We should [be careful and] proceed vigilantly.
We should tolerate one another and avoid inciting people's feelings
We should all get united despite holding differing views. We should tolerate one another, avoid inciting others or taking advantage of holy titles. We should not believe the idea that one can reach his goals by force. Behind violence there are misuse of situation by enemies and riots. We should tolerate one another.
Furthermore, we should take into consideration the realities of the society and national interests. Through this, we will, God willing, be able to have both political development and [great] economic progress as well as cultural and scientific development. These are my programs [agenda].
I also believe that these programs will be approved by the majority of people when put to the vote. Both religiously and legally, I am also obliged to defend this [policies]. I want to say that I believe [strongly] in these programs. I mentioned their theoretical bases which I am ready to discuss. What is now at hand is a program to be voted by people and I am duty-bound to implement it by the grace of Allah.
People know and I once again reiterate that such social developments and implementation of these programs can not take place overnight. It needs patience, tolerance, perseverance, and sympathy.
Fortunately, one of the [most important] points that exists is the mutual trust between the government and nation. If it was not for this mutual confidence, the country would have faced more [serious] problems given numerous crises we have experience since the victory of the revolution. [this particularly has been so] over the past two or three years when such incidents increased, for instance, recent incidents at Tehran University dormitory and its ensuing diversionary issues [political unrest]. We should, therefore, greatly appreciate this mutual confidence.
[Finally] We should value the `presence on the scene' of our youth. Others expected the second generation of the revolution [those born mostly after the revolution] to turn away from the [Islamic] system because of their lack of understanding of past events and present difficulties. Their hopes [the enemies'] were dashed. Dynamic and vibrant, our young generation is present on the scene. We should believe it and respect its dignity. Of course, more should be done for the young delegation and the society at large in political, cultural and economic domains.
Q: LET'S NOW TURN TO ECONOMIC ISSUES AND OTHER MATTERS WHICH HAVE SELDOM BEEN RAISED AND DISCUSSED BY YOU IN THE PAST YEAR, BEGINNING WITH THE ECONOMIC REHABILITATION PLAN (ERP). NOW THAT WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF THE THIRD FIVE-YEAR ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN, WOULD YOU PLEASE SAY WHETHER ERP WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IMPLEMENTED AS A PROJECT OR IT WAS A PREAMBLE TO THE THIRD FIVE-YEAR DEVELOPMENT PLAN. IF ERP IS A PRELUDE WOULD YOU PLEASE TELL US WHAT PARTS OF IT WILL BE IMPLEMENTED IN THE COURSE OF THE THIRD DEVELOPMENT PLAN.
A: Before speaking about ERP and then the Third Plan, let me draw a picture of the nation's economic situation of the society when my government came to power. Of course, a great deal of works had been done [by the previous administrations] particularly during the eight-year-long `Reconstruction Period' including huge projects and substantial developments. Suffice to remind you that one of the advantages enjoyed by this government is that many of those projects had already been commissioned and we had become self-sufficient in various fields.
Had, however, there not been such self-sufficiency and great jobs already done, the society would have faced serious crisis due to a sudden 40 percent slump in the prices of oil in 1998 given the pivotal role the oil revenues play in the country. We could have overcome, to some degrees, the problems using the achievements already made and self-sufficiency attained in many areas, but the economic situation of the society was not so good when the government came to power.
When I came to office, the country's foreign debts stood at $28 billion and its registered foreign currency reserves which could not be spent totally, was $6 billion. This was one [major] problem given the fact that most of our foreign debts fell due in the years 1997, 1998 and 1999.
The second problem was that inflation rate began to jump from 1995, reaching over 40 percent and then close to 50 percent. Then, it was decided that in order to curb inflation some decisions had to be made better known as `Economic Adjustment' policies. Of course this was effective and helped push down the inflation, thus sparing the country the crisis of hyperinflation.
However, it was the beginning of a stage- the recession- whose negative impacts became obvious at the time of this government. When you adopt policies to control inflation, its first impact will appear in investment and production.
[It should be noted] that the recession had actually started since 1995. There were lots of incomplete projects which still exist today. One of our problems is these numerous unfinished projects to which lots of resources have been allocated. The point is that the recession had already started [before I was elected president].
The third problem was population explosion. The 1981-82 marked the beginning of the problems facing our education sector. Iranian children were reaching their school age and entering the labor market in the 1996-97 period. The 3-4 percent growth rate of population at the beginning of the revolution has caused a large number of work force to enter the labor market.
Therefore, in order for us to have an `acceptable status' during the Third Development Plan, we should create 700,000- 800,000 jobs each year. This is when [the previous governments] had never been able to create more than 400,000 employment opportunities at the peak of our [economic] success. In other words, the jobs created in the Second Development Plan totalled a little more than 300,000 yearly. We should provide jobs twice as much as this number in this country. To do so, we need investment, production and infra-structural work.
Another problem we had to deal with was that due to some difficulties we failed to repay our foreign debts on time during the 1993-94 period an atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust in the efficiency of our banking system and in our commitment to hard currency obligations, prevailed in international forum resulting in high-risk rates paid by us for activities of foreigners in Iran, higher insurance rates demanded by foreign insurance companies and also payment of higher interest rates if they (foreigners) wanted to grant loans or make investments in the country, all because Iran was considered a high-risk nation to invest in. We (my government) entered the scene under such conditions.
Simultaneous with this, the prices of oil plummeted to its lowest point in our history. We sold crude oil at an average price of $10.8 per barrel last year which was the lowest figure in the past 20 years. In our budget bill submitted to the Majlis for year 1377 (ended March 20), the price of oil had been estimated at $16 per barrel. Therefore we faced a $5 billion deficit in our oil revenues.
Given the fact that reduction in production will push down exports, commercial duties, tax revenues and trade activities, last year we faced a shortage of revenues of 25 trillion rials. If we wanted to finance the deficit through borrowing from banks, the inflation rate, which despite all problems has been kept at 20 percent, would have returned to the [high levels of] previous years when the rate stood at over 40 percent. For this reason, we took many measures including borrowing of only 6 trillion rials of the 25 trillion rials deficit from the Central Bank. In other words, we put squeezed our current budget and, of course, on our budget for development programs.
It is true that we did not manage to give as high impetus to our development drive as we should have, but we managed to hold the inflation at 20 percent. Under such conditions, I took over the responsibility of the government. However, I do not intend to find fault with any body. Before turning to ERP, I should refer to analysis made by some people to this effect that If this government had not come to power, or there had not been mutual confidence between the government and people, or the Iranian people had not tolerated difficulties thanks to their trust in the government or the `proper situation' had not been provided for the Islamic Republic of Iran in international forums, the economy would have been different from [far worse than] what is now.
At the same time, I had to made a decision on economic strategy. There were quite differing views. We already had two experiences, one being at the time of war when there was state-controlled economy and the other being during the `Reconstruction Period.' Both experiences had their own achievements and problems particularly at the beginning or the middle of the Second Economic Development Plan when a decision was taken to revise the country's economic policies. Next, the idea of ERP came to existence with an aim of determining the country's economic principles. policies and strategies. I myself spent time as various apparatuses had spent time too. We took into account nearly all viewpoints when the Economic Rehabilitation Plan was introduced.
ERP with its definite goals and its general policies and orientations mostly focusing on the acute problems of the society was approved by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution. The goals included streamlining the size of the government, easing responsibility of the government and preparing the ground of private sector activity in the society, creating job opportunities, slowing down or curbing inflation rate, encouraging production and investment, attracting foreign resources and investments while adhering to the principles and values of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Also, getting rid of [total dependence on] oil revenues, turning oil into oil by-products instead of exporting all the oil we could, easing dependence on oil and, in short, restructuring the country's economy. The procedures for implementation of the plan were also compiled and this was the course we took to reach ERP.
I am ready to discuss about its performance if necessary. Nevertheless, I should say that ERP has substantially facilitated our job in the Third Development Plan. The general outlines and orientations of the plan are the same as those of ERP except that it pursues a long-term and more fundamental target. Yes, the Third Development Plan is the logical continuation of ERP.
Q: YOU MADE MENTION OF A PERIOD OF INFLATION AND A PERIOD OF RECESSION. ECONOMISTS BELIEVE THAT WE ARE IN A STATE OF INFLATIONARY-RECESSION, THUS FACING A DILEMMA. WE SHOULD EITHER GO AFTER CREATING JOBS OR CURBING INFLATION. IN OTHER WORDS, WE SHOULD CHOOSE ONE OF THEM AT THE EXPENSE OF THE OTHER. WOULD YOU PLEASE SAY WHICH OF THESE TWO ISSUES HAS BEEN GIVEN PRIORITY IN THE THIRD PLAN AND ERP AND THAT WHICH OF THESE SHOULD BE ACCEPTED BY PEOPLE IN ORDER TO BE PREPARED.
A: This is a problem indeed. Economics has its own rules and regulations. The society, too, has its own principles and criteria which should be observed. Of course, economics is always at the service of the economic policies adopted. In other words, policies are adopted with regards to available facilities, needs of the society, mentality of the society and historical, geographical and cultural situation of the society. However, these policies will succeed if they are practical and based on economic fundamentals.
At present there are various economic philosophies in the world. Communist policies have failed but there still exist socialist policies. Laissez-faire capitalism, as it existed in the 19th century, can no longer be seen in the most advanced countries of the world. You can observe a kind of control over market and controlled capitalism in the industrialized countries of the world where taxes sometimes exceed 80 and 90 percent. They allow activities but control them by levying taxes and exercise varying kinds of supervisions.
Given our social fabric, and due to ethical, Islamic and humanitarian reasons, we are not at all ready to sacrifice the fate of our future generations for economic development because economic development does not necessarily equal to social justice. A desirable development is one which is coupled with social justice. Therefore, both the living standard of people and economic boom are important to us.
It seems, however, that there is a contrast between these two issues. If we (the government) want to have economic boom we have to adopt more open policies which will automatically lead to inflation. In that case, the purchasing power of a part of society will decrease but our could industries could raise the quality of their products, become profitable and can compete on international markets. On the other hand, if we focus our attention only on inflation and people's purchasing power, and if we spend all our incomes on providing basic needs of people and fail to make investment, then we our society will face an extremely serious [economic] crisis in the future. We have therefore tried to take both issues into consideration in both ERP and the Third Plan.
Our efforts have mostly been concentrated on improving the structure of the economy. We have allocated a budget for paying direct subsidies in both ERP and the Third Plan. Based on the latest figures we are paying seven trillion rials in the form of direct subsidies. This sum has been earmarked for essential goods such as bread, sugar, vegetable oil and other commodities. The figure was 6.2 trillion rials last year which rose to 7 trillion rials this year. The figure will continue to rise until the end of the third plan. Though not finalized yet, I think, as envisioned in early proposals, The government will set aside nearly 19 trillion rials worth of direct subsidies in the fifth year of the third plan reflecting [well over] 100-percent increase compared to this year.
There was a point in ERP which has not unfortunately been implemented yet. The failure to quickly implement ERP or the decisions taken is one of the flaws which can affect the government and the society at large. The point which I referred to was that we should single out a number of basic commodities which have serious impact on the family basket and then stabilize their prices for people in consistent with their purchasing power.
For example, if salaries are raised by 10 percent, then the prices of these goods should increase by 10 percent. These goods number 27-28 items. For other goods, a kind of control should be exercised over their raw materials or other things so that they can be made available to people. Prices of Other goods however could be left to be determined by market forces so that our domestic industries are not harmed.
The most important cause of inflation is borrowing from the Central Bank. However, among the measures taken by us was that despite all pressures, we borrowed only 6 trillion rials out of our 25 trillion rials budget deficit, from the bank. We try not to have borrowing from bank in the Third Development Plan.
As you see, we have something in the past period called `obligatory facilities' which is one of problematic factors for production and investment and a cause of inflation in the society. The total credits the banks could grant was 9.9 trillion rials while the obligatory credits of banks in the 1376 (1997) budget stood at 29 trillion rials of which 14 trillion rials was paid. We continued this in our last year's and this year's budgets and God willing we are moving in the direction of omitting this. We raised obligatory credits to 60 trillion rials.
In other words, we put half of this facilities at the disposal of banks to handle their own affairs, feed the private sector and reduce liquidities. This will also encourage investment and cut back our debts to banks which is an important issue. We directed obligatory facilities mostly towards unfinished projects in order to be completed as soon as possible and for investments made in the country to come to fruition.
Another problem causing inflation was foreign exchange obligations account. In other words, when the rate of dollar against rail sky-rocketed from 70 rials to 600 rials and then from 600 rials to 800 and 1,750 rials, we had to pay the difference of rates. We borrowed this from the Central Bank. Our foreign exchange obligations account stood at 30 trillion rials which we are still paying.
Among the measures taken by us in the Third Plan and in ERP was to keep the government's official rates of foreign exchanges unchanged until the end of the plan ($US1=1,750 rials). This accounts for $5 billion of out total annual incomes.
Low income people are to receive subsidies. The rest are those who are ready to be absorbed in the labor market. Our problem is that we should create jobs for the youth who are do not want to receive government handout. We should create as much jobs and make as much investment as we can. We should increase people's purchasing power and ease pressure on people.
Due to the above-mentioned problems, the inflation rate rose to between 25-26 percent on the average during the Second Development Plan from the average 12.4 percent projected initially in the plan. Of course, the inflation rate reached 17 percent two years ago and rose to 20 percent last year.
This year we will try to keep the rate at 20 percent. The rate of inflation in the course of the third plan has been estimated at 15.9 percent on the average and at 13 percent on the last year of the plan, which will be 10 percent lower compared to the second plan. If the inflation rate stands at 13 percent on the last year of the third plan, this will show a seven percent decrease compared to the 20 percent inflation rate this year (which is the last year of the second plan). As for unemployment problem, we have made efforts to reduce the rate. I think the unemployment rate during the third plan will be around 13 percent. Promotion of exports will lead to an economic boom and serve to create jobs and curb inflation in the long run. We hope that we will be able to control inflation as much as we can and to boost production.
As you mentioned, one of the most important indicators in the economic planning of our country and perhaps in implementation of economic programs, has been the price of oil on world markets, which as you mentioned, has undergone heavy fluctuations over the past couple of years, reaching its record low in 20 years. Whenever the prices of oil decrease on world market, we feel that attention to reduce our reliance on oil increases, but whenever the problem is solved or eased to a tolerable degree, we perhaps hear fewer words ushered about non-oil-export economy. Is this true? Would you please say what measures have been taken in economic planning and in the Third Development Plan to prevent such fluctuations and its destructive effects?"
A: You raised a very interesting point which indicate the illness of our economy as I mentioned before. But I said somewhere that oil is a very valuable gift that the Almighty God gives to a nation. Over the oil, we had numerous political problems, we had numerous social difficulties, we had numerous economic issues, either when foreign powers had their eyes on our oil or when large income from oil was used by the government to cover up problems.
As a matter of fact, one of the problems which drew our attention to such a pain and disease is the slump in oil prices. A lesson to be learnt from the collapse of oil prices slump for us was that we have got to diagnose our real pain which can no longer be cured by a pain killer.
For one thing, Industries that do not earn sufficient revenues should step up their efforts and improve their management. Both in ERP and the Third Development Plan we strongly emphasized that fact that oil is an asset and capital not [merely a source of] income and therefore reliance of the country's current budget on oil should be minimized. For another, the growth of tax incomes both in this year and last year budgets were higher than before and this trend will continue in the future. We therefore can collect more taxes and thus financing many of our projects.
"The second point to which we paid attention both in the rehabilitation plan and third plan was to reduce the government's responsibilities. Of course, I admit that we have had many flaws such as delays in easing the government's responsibilities. I will also speak about our role in slowing down the implementation of the Economic Rehabilitation Plan and about reasons for this. As you know there are a large number of state-owned companies which have been set up in parallel with ministries and other government organizations. At present, the public sector accounts for 80 percent of industrial activities of which 65-70 percent are carried out by the government and 10-15 percent by public organs such as foundations. This is a high figure. In other words, the private sector has an insignificant part in this regard. Contrary to this, over 90 percent of activities in agriculture sector are done by the private sector and less than 10 percent by the government. This sector, too, has its own problems.
"Among the measure we should take is to reduce the responsibilities of the government. The government should only govern the country. The country needs security, education, infrastructures, an active foreign diplomacy, and investment attraction. The government should pave the way for all these jobs and it is the people who should do the main job. Except for a few monopolies, which according to the constitution should be in the hands of the government, others should be ceded to the cooperatives and private sectors.
"These are among the main pivots of the Economic Rehabilitation Plan and fortunately, the parliament approved article 35 in this respect enabling the government to hand over these companies. This could not be done as favorably as we wanted due to some problems. God willing, we should remove our own flaws and materialize this goal in the future, because the more we streamline the size of the government, the more this will benefit investment, development and production. Moreover, this will automatically help push down inflation rate and increase people's purchasing power. There were a few problems which slowed down this trend.
"Firstly, there was a bad record of handing over state-owned companies to the private sector which created a kind of pessimism in the society. Secondly, our managers acted conservatively, fearing that if handing over turned out to be improper, they would face an atmosphere of insecurity and exposed to all kinds of accusations and hardships. This is one of our economic problems and we should find a way to provide security for our managers. Fortunately, I had several meetings wit the esteemed chief of the judiciary and after several rounds of discussion we agreed to find a way to provide security at managerial level. Of course, some managers might commit offenses which should be encountered, but sometimes a kind of environment is created under which every manager feels that he might be caught at any moment and get into troubles. However I do not intend to go into details. Unfortunately, another flaw of ours is sectoral attitude. In other words, our apparatuses are not ready to lose easily what they have. Of course this might have positive effects on their sectors but we should have a general outlook and take into consideration the whole society.
"Thirdly, there is a lack of enthusiasm on the part of people for purchasing these factories. As I mentioned before, people are not willing to invest in manufacturing fields or in what are located on land and visible."
Q: WHY?
A: "This is due to the issue of mistrust as I mentioned before and related to the security we should provide for investment. This requires necessary rules ad regulations on the part of the government and a national will on the part of people so that it becomes clear that stability exists in this country.
"If we implement a program, every body from the top to the bottom should say that this is a program of the whole system and not of a certain individual. As asserted by the Holy Quran, if an unbeliever seeks asylum with one of the Muslim people and that Muslim man makes a promise, his promise should be valid for the whole Islamic government and whole Islamic society and he should keep his promise. This means establishing security, keeping one's promise and abiding by one's obligation. Now that the government of the Islamic Republic has come and implemented a plan, anybody may come and say something or do something that causes psychological insecurity or causes some troubles in practice, and people do not welcome it. Of course we took precaution measures which was implemented very slowly and now I do not know whether it was right or not. As you see, when between 70 and 80 percent of production is in the hands of the public sector, we are facing inflationary recession and there is no investment, it is unwise on our part to reduce this amount of production due to such rapid activities. If we were in a period of economic boom, any reduction in production as a result of transfer of these companies could be compensated by the private sector production.
"But now that the artery of our industrial production is in the hand of the government, if we fail to be cautious, such interactions will further push down production, thus exacerbating inflationary recession. However, despite all shortcomings on our part and despite failure to do the job as quickly as possible, it is of great importance for us to streamline the size of the government and ease its responsibilities. This will not only lead to a boost in economy and the private sector, but will also increase people's purchasing power. The more the production is, the better the status of society will be. These are some points which I believe can help control, to some degree, the inflation rate and lead to an economic boom in the society."
Q: "MR. PRESIDENT, SUPPOSE THAT WE MANAGE TO INCREASE PRODUCTION TO THE SAME LEVEL THAT YOU AND YOUR ESTEEMED GOVERNMENT WISH AND TO THE LEVEL WHICH CAN REDUCE INFLATION AND (AS A RESULT) PRODUCTS APPEAR ON THE MARKET, THEN WE SHOULD MOVE TOWARDS EXPORTS. ONE OF THE WAYS OF GETTING RID OF A MONO-PRODUCT ECONOMY IS TO BOOST EXPORT OF NON-OIL COMMODITIES. TO THIS END, SOME DECISIONS HAVE BEEN TAKEN RECENTLY TO EASE CUSTOMS FORMALITIES AS WELL AS FOREIGN EXCHANGE REGULATIONS GOVERNING EXPORTS, IN FAVOR OF EXPORTERS. WOULD YOU PLEASE SAY WHAT FUNDAMENTAL DECISIONS HAVE BEEN TAKEN IN THE THIRD DEVELOPMENT PLAN TO BOOST EXPORT OF NON-OIL GOODS, PARTICULARLY THAT PART OF AGRICULTURE SECTOR THAT HELPS PRODUCTION AND WHAT ATTENTION HAS BEEN PAID TO THE INDUSTRY SECTOR?
A: "One of the points we agreed upon in both the Economic Rehabilitation Plan and in the domain of the government's economic policies, was expansion of non-oil exports. This has made us hopeful and we really hope that we can attain this target. In the Third Development Plan, we have predicted 41 billion dollars worth of non-oil exports, despite the fact that the figure was originally supposed to be between 17 billion and 18 billion dollars. This shows more than a 100 percent increase.
"Despite all the problems facing us over this period, our progress in exporting non-oil commodities heralds a bright future for our non-oil exports. This is the result of the decisions taken for the Economic Rehabilitation Plan and a series of measures adopted to ease export regulations and offer incentives for exporters. Among such measures was establishment of an export services center which I inaugurated recently. All procedures necessary for exports are carried out in this center so that exporters do not have to go to various places to do their jobs.
"Despite all difficulties, our non-oil exports in the month of Dey (December 22-January 20), 1377 (1998) showed a 31.6 percent rise compared to the corresponding period the previous year. Therefore, our non-oil exports were much more better than before. The same trend continued until the month of Esfand (February 20- March 19) when the growth of our non-oil exports stood at 67.4 percent in terms of weight and 4.76 percent in terms of value. But, as you see, the difference between 67 percent, the growth in the weight of goods exported and four percent, the growth in the value of the exported goods, shows that the prices of goods had been very low. Fortunately, those policies and a relative improvement in the state of affairs caused our non-oil exports to have a 67 percent growth in terms of weight and a 33 percent increase in terms of value in the first four months of 1378 (March 1999- March 2000), compared to the corresponding period in 1377.
"What I want to say is that our industry sector experienced a growth. The industry sector accounted for most of the exports, followed by carpets. We saw a good growth in exports in other sectors such as mining, agriculture and so on. In short, given our status quo and a boost in our economic situation, we predict more successes in terms of exports in coming years. As a matter of fact, one of the ways of ridding of oil revenues is to expand non-oil exports."
Q: "PAYING ATTENTION TO FOREIGN EXCHANGE POLICIES PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN THE FIELD OF NON-OIL EXPORTS. IT IS SAID THAT INCOMES FROM SALE OF OIL BELONG TO THE GOVERNMENT AND THE HARD CASH OBTAINED FROM EXPORT OF NON-OIL COMMODITIES SHOULD BE USED TO KEEP THE WHEEL OF THE COUNTRY'S ECONOMY ROLLING. TO WHAT EXTENT SHOULD THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE POLICIES GOVERN THIS KIND OF HARD CASH AND WILL FOREIGN EXCHANGE POLICIES BE REVISED IN ORDER TO ENCOURAGE EXPORTS TO EXPORT NON-OIL GOODS?"
A: "President: Had we wanted to focus our attention on the issue of inflation alone, for example reduce it from 14 percent to five percent, we could have done so by freezing production and exports. At the same time, we are trying to slow down the growth of inflation rate which means it cannot be eliminated entirely. This holds true for the whole world. Of course, it will be ideal for us to have a single digit inflation rate in the future.
"We could also lift our control over inflation to reach between 20 and 25 percent and instead substantially increase exports of non-oil commodities. In that case, too, we should see how much our export capacity is. There are the questions of marketing and quality of our goods. It is not clear whether we can really have more exports than we have now in the event of more open economy. 41 billion dollars is a very high figure but in order to keep the inflation rate under control, we took a measure to the effect that we calculated the foreign exchange rate for basic goods and major products on the basis of 1,750 rials against dollar and for the rest of the goods according to export proceeds settlement payment (in foreign exchange) in such a way that exporters can do their job without feeling that he might make a loss.
"In our opinion, through this policy we managed to curb inflation, to some degree and encourage exporters to use their capitals for this purpose."
Q: "AGRICULTURAL CROPS AND PRODUCTS ENJOY A HIGH POSITION IN THE FIELD OF EXPORTS. DOMESTICALLY, THESE PRODUCTS ARE OF IMPORTANCE FOR DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION AND FOR THE ECONOMY AT LARGE. 90 PERCENT OF THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR IS IN THE HANDS OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR. WE KNOW THAT OUR POPULATION HAS INCREASED MANIFOLDS OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS AND SO HAS DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION AND PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. BUT IT IS SOMETIMES SAID THAT TOO MUCH ATTENTION HAS BEEN PAID TO THE INDUSTRY SECTOR AT THE EXPENSE OF THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR AND THAT IF ENOUGH ATTENTION HAD BEEN PAID TO THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR, PERHAPS THE PRODUCTION OF AGRICULTURAL CROPS WOULD HAVE BEEN HIGHER THAN WHAT IS NOW. IS IT NECESSARY TO INCREASE THE VOLUME OF PRODUCTION OR NOT? AND WOULD YOU PLEASE SAY HOW MUCH ATTENTION HAS BEEN PAID TO THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR IN THE THIRD DEVELOPMENT PLAN?
A: "President: Agriculture really plays a vital and strategic role in the survival of the country. Providing foodstuff and food sources should not be looked upon even from economical point of view, rather we should move towards self-sufficiency. Unfortunately, like our economy, the agriculture sector is suffering from a series of problems which should be solved.
"As you see there are abundant natural resources in this country. Perspirations and underground waters are very good. But unfortunately, a large portion of these waters are either wasted or turned into floods, causing damage and washing away farmlands, an inch of which is worth millions of rials. In other words, we are facing basic shortages in fields of watershed management, in land revitalizing, in dams and in irrigation networks. Of course, we should not forget that at present over 70 dams are under construction and that we have made efforts to direct our facilities and resources towards completion of these projects.
"A dam is not for storage of water alone rather water irrigation networks behind the dams are very important. Due attention has been given to the expansion of these networks in the Third Development Plan. At the present, of the 120 billion cubic meters of waters that we can obtain, only 88 billion cubic meters are obtained of which between 30-40 billion cubic meters of waters are wasted. Of 800 billion cubic meters of waters, 83 billion cubic meters belong to the agriculture sector, but a large portion of these waters are still wasted because of the absence of a mechanized agricultural system. We can make use of these resources in a better manner. The Agriculture Ministry has many agriculture plans under way, of which some have become operational and God willing others are to come on stream in the future. Due to my insistence, work on a huge sugar cane project which had been abandoned for long, has resumed which once operational will cause a great upheaval in the agriculture sector. However, a large part of our products depends on rainfalls and are grown in rain-fed farmlands. This year, drought inflicted heavy losses on us. Of course, we should not forget that the drought was said to have been the worst in the past 50 and 60 years and been unprecedented in the Iranian history. The flood which hit the Caspian city of Neka has been unprecedented in terms of density in the past 400 and 500 years. There was flood on the one hand and drought on the other. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that our agriculture sector has been active. Despite the drought, the value of our imports of agricultural products stood at 1.9 billion dollars which included a variety of foodstuffs, wheat, barley, corn and so on and at the same time we had one billion dollars worth of exports. In other words, in spite of all pressure on us, the difference between imports and exports was only 900 million dollars. Agricultural projects, irrigation of naturally-watered farmlands, mechanization of agriculture on existing farmlands and setting up of agro-industrial complexes of which some have already come on stream and some others will become operational in the future, are among the major programs, that will, God willing, be pursued during the Third Development Plan. Agriculture can create job opportunities and ensure our survival as well. Of course, we, who want to provide 700,000 or 760,000 employment opportunities should take step towards revival and development of our agriculture and agriculture-related industries. Let me give you an example that needs little investment, requires no foreign exchange, creates job opportunities and can come to fruition soon. The esteemed governor general of Charmahal Bakhtiary Province who is an expert on agriculture, offered a plan to provide job opportunities for 30,000 people so as to almost eliminate unemployment in the province. The plan envisaged establishment of almond and walnut orchards, fish farming and other agricultural activities by receiving 250 billion rials worth of government facilities, and 200 billion rials worth of loans from the Agriculture Bank for the creation of 30,000 employment opportunities. They used 200 billion rials and now that I am sitting beside you, 9,500 jobs have been created there. Over a one year period, 2,500 people in the province have established cattle breeding centers by receiving loans and between 7,000 and 7,500 others have engaged in horticulture on orchards.
"We should do such things. For example, expansion of fish farming for production of shrimps and other fishes living in cold and warm waters is among the major activities of the Construction Jihad Ministry. The coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman which stretch for thousands of kilometers and which cannot be used for farming due to salty waters and land, offer an ideal place for production of shrimp which is even more important than oil in terms of export. At present, the Agriculture Ministry has brought thousands of hectares of land under cultivation to create employment opportunities.
"At any rate, employment is one of the major pivots of our Third Development Plan especially in such enterprises that requires less investment, come to fruition soon and make higher profits. Basically, agriculture and its associated industries and fish farming are given due attention in the Third Development Plan."
Q: "BEFORE ASKING YOU THE LAST QUESTION I WANT TO REPEAT THE SAME QUESTION RAISED BY YOU HERE AND THAT IS WHY THERE IS A GAP BETWEEN DECISIONS TAKEN AND PROGRAMS OFFERED AND THEIR IMPLEMENTATION.
A: "The Economic Development Plan consisted of two parts: One was fundamental restructuring such as regulations and decisions taken the impacts of which became evident. For instance, their impacts on exports of non-oil commodities. The other was restructuring economic establishments and economic management. As you see, there are various parallel apparatuses, councils and decision making centers which take numerous and sometimes contradictory decisions on the one hand and on the other cause the president to spend lots of his time on removing the effects of such contradictory decisions. Time is wasted in various councils and this in turn causes decisions to be in contrast with practices. Both the existence of numerous decision making centers and the long process of making decisions should be blamed for the long gaps between a decision and its enforcement. In other words, the main problem is that our ailing economy has been coupled with a sick managerial structure of our society. The Economic Rehabilitation Plan envisaged improvement of organizational structure.
"Unfortunately, one of the jobs which we failed to do rapidly was the approval of the first part while the second part was not approved. Of course the second part was studied. The reason for this was that after the plan had been raised we noticed that the management of economic establishments was part of the country's macro management and asked ourselves whether we could improve a part of a body while the whole body is sick.
"Our subsequent studies and investigations made us doubtful whether it could produce its desired results. Then, we came to the conclusion that the managerial structure of the country should be entirely changed. The State Organization for Employment and Administrative Affairs was called to task. The organization has compiled a very good plan which we hope will be offered to the government soon. A part of the plan must certainly be approved by the government, Majlis and other relevant organs, as the base of the Third Development Plan before the third plan is passed and goes into effect.
"Another part can be improved in the course of the third plan. The sickness of and flaws in the country's economic management structure is the main obstacles preventing the Economic Rehabilitation Plan and other cultural, political and economic decisions from coming to fruition. This structure must certainly be changed as we have already planned to do so but due to some reasons which I cannot reveal now, this has been postponed.
"I hope that our administrative restructuring plan will be approved by the Cabinet and the Majlis in this coming winter. Furthermore, one of our major goals in the Third Development Plan is to improve the country's management structure. God willing."
Q: "YOU MADE MENTION OF THE IMPROVEMENT IN MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE. BUT GIVEN THE FIGURES OFFERED BY YOU FOR THE THIRD DEVELOPMENT PLAN INCLUDING THE PREDICTION OF A SIX PERCENT ECONOMIC GROWTH, PUSHING DOWN THE INFLATION RATE AS LOW AS POSSIBLE, DOUBLE CONTAINMENT OF INFLATIONARY RECESSION, THE QUESTION OF OIL AND THE LIKES, MY QUESTION IS "DO WE HAVE ENOUGH FINANCIAL RESOURCES, CAPITALS AND SKILLED MANPOWER NECESSARY FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF ALL THESE PLANS? HAS DUE ATTENTION BEEN PAID TO PROVIDING NECESSARY MEANS NEEDED FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE PLANS?"
A: "I personally believe that what we have planned to do, though looking ambitious, is the least we should do. In other words, if we aim at less targets than these, our society will face very serious problems. I believe there exist necessary capacities and talents to achieve this goal. What we need is a strong will to use all these capacities. All of these are not provided by the government alone. We estimated our foreign exchange requirements during this five year plan to be 112-113 billion dollars. The share of oil revenue envisaged in the plan has been put at a minimum level. In other words, in view of fluctuations in the prices of oil in the past, we put the minimum but a reliable level of oil revenues in our budget. One of the main problems facing the budget was that with any changes in the prices of oil, the whole managerial system of the country, government and executive branch of government became shaky. For this reason, the share of oil revenue in the budget was put at a minimum level that we are sure to obtain.
"At this point we said we wanted to separate, to some degree, general budgets from the oil revenues. We decided to devote this 51-52 billion dollar budget mostly to development budgets and not to let our current budgets be provided from here, rather from taxes, duties and similar sources. We estimated our non-oil exports at 41 billion dollars and the rest are foreign exchange resources which should come from abroad. The first point here is that we should be in such a position as to be able to attract foreign resources while preserving our principles and our interests alike on the one hand and to decrease our administrative expenses on the other.
"We should also be able to direct our country in the path desired by our revolution and our society. An example of the achievements of this government, which of course is not the result of my own efforts but the efforts of all my colleagues in the Cabinet and the result of cooperation between the nation and government, is the favorable position of the government and system of the Islamic Republic of Iran on international scenes.
"Our detente policy does not mean abandoning our principles, but rather it means having logical behavior towards others on the basis of mutual respect and defending the national interests in a logical manner. Despite all the crises faced by us, we attracted billions of dollars worth of money in the forms of buy-back and finance schemes which were invested. Had this not existed, we would have had a severer economic recession. Economic development, progress and attainment of these goals depends on an active, wise and logical diplomacy. We have this and we should do it. On the other hand, we should provide the ground in the country so that economic activities enjoy necessary security and stability. This needs a national will. We can never expect to reach these goals by relying on the government's power alone. In the other words, this needs a national will and solidarity. We should, God willing, turn this in the Third Development Plan into a common point shared by all groups, factions and government apparatuses, with the approval of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
"One of the advantages of the third plan is that it was compiled during the second plan and that it has taken into consideration all recommendations and policies offered by the paramount Leader of the Islamic Revolution. We first offered the general policies and orientations of the third plan to the Leader and his excellency referred them to the Expediency Council which held lengthy and helpful debates on them. Later, those general policies were referred to the Leader for his final approval which became the foundation of our planning. Therefore, there should be cooperation and solidarity. There should be safe and calm atmosphere. However, this does not mean that there must be a certain preference or taste in the society. There are various preferences which should all be expressed within the framework of law. A good job that every government should do is to direct varying preferences and tastes existing in a society towards the lofty national goals of the country. Otherwise, if only a certain preference should exist in a society at the expense of the silence of other preferences, the latter would remain as invisible factors, thus causing an explosion in the society. Security does not mean that a reign of intimidation should prevail in the society. The stronger the trust between the people and government is, the more we respect the people and the more legally we act and persuade people and other factions to do so, the more deeply security will be established in the society. I think the good cooperation between us and the judiciary should be established between us and the Majlis and between various apparatuses so that a national resolve can take shape. If all of these come true and the ground is prepared for them, we can then proceed with our detente policy in international forums, avoid unwanted animosity against us and express our ideas and opposition in a logical manner. But this does not mean backing down from our principles. I think, God willing, this can provide us with good conditions to attain our goals.
Q: "GOD WILLING. WE HAVE NUMEROUS QUESTIONS ON VARIOUS ISSUES, IN POLITICAL AND CULTURAL FIELDS AND IN AREAS MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING OF OUR INTERVIEW. BUT YOUR EXCELLENCY DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH TIME AND ARE TOO BUSY. HOWEVER, I REQUEST YOUR PERMISSION TO RECEIVE US ON LATER OCCASIONS TO ASK THE REMAINING QUESTIONS SO THAT OUR VIEWERS CAN HEAR ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS. AS YOUR EXCELLENCY MENTIONED, OTHER OFFICIALS CONCERNED WILL GIVE FURTHER EXPLANATIONS ABOUT THE THIRD PLAN AND OTHER ECONOMIC PROGRAMS OF THE GOVERNMENT IN OUR FUTURE PROGRAMS. THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND THE TIME GIVEN TO US."