One Billion Dollars Allocated for Employment Preservation and Development by the Economic Coordination Council

The Supreme Economic Coordination Council approved the allocation of "one billion dollars" for the preservation and development of employment, and the heads of Iran's three branches of government also called for stronger oversight by the Central Bank over banks and control of liquidity. According to the government's information website, these resolutions and proposals were made during a meeting on Sunday, September 8, chaired by Hassan Rouhani and attended by the heads of the legislative and judicial branches. In this meeting, it was decided to allocate one billion dollars from the National Development Fund for the preservation and development of employment. This amount will be allocated through "supporting active production units," "rehabilitating dilapidated urban areas," and "renewing urban and intercity transportation fleets," as well as "determining and providing subsidies related to the interest on bank loans to strengthen the working capital of applicant units" to preserve and develop existing employment. The allocation of this amount comes at a time when the Iranian President was recently summoned by members of the Parliament to respond to the country's economic problems. The "failure of the government to take appropriate action to reduce the unemployment rate" along with other issues such as "the government's failure to control smuggling of goods and currency," "the continuation of banking sanctions," "severe economic recession for several years," and "the rapid increase in foreign currency rates and the severe decline in the national currency's value" were five main questions directed at Mr. Rouhani, whose answers did not convince the members of Parliament. According to a report from the Statistical Center of Iran published on July 24, the unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 29 in the country is 25.5 percent. The dismissal of the Central Bank Governor by the government and the dismissal of two ministers of Labor, Cooperatives, and Social Welfare and the Minister of Economy of the twelfth government by the Parliament occurred after prolonged fluctuations in the Iranian currency market, the collapse of the rial's value, and public protests regarding the economic situation in various cities of Iran, which have been part of the political-economic tensions in Iran in recent months. However, despite the removal of Valiollah Seif from the presidency of the Central Bank and the appointment of Abdolnaser Hemmati in his place, and various measures he has taken to control the currency market, the exchange rate in Iran remains turbulent. For this reason, according to IRNA, in the meeting of the Supreme Economic Coordination Council, the heads of the three branches discussed proposals and solutions for "stronger oversight by the Central Bank over banks and control of liquidity in the path of enhancing domestic production and also the requirements and new ways of managing and regulating the market." No further details have been released regarding the content of this meeting and other possible resolutions. Following the meeting in June this year between the Leader of the Islamic Republic and high-ranking officials of the country, where he mentioned a "meeting with Hassan Rouhani, Sadegh Larijani, Ali Larijani, and several active economic officials in the government, Parliament, and judiciary about the country's economic situation" and requested that the content of that meeting be pursued by official authorities, the Supreme Economic Coordination Council of the three branches was formed. The "fundamental agenda" of this council, which has held several meetings and made resolutions, according to conservative media in Iran, includes addressing "banking conditions, employment and investment, addressing the situation of the deprived and underprivileged, budget and financial discipline, supporting national production and Iranian goods, and considering any potential scenarios in the JCPOA." Among the resolutions of this council, which is intended to make decisions on the main economic issues of the country, are the approval of the details of the Central Bank's currency package, the allocation of 30 trillion tomans for implementing programs and packages to overcome the current economic conditions, and the approval of macro policies for combating "psychological warfare and economic issues," as well as "solutions for controlling and managing liquidity."