Rouhani and Jahangiri Emphasize Pursuing Resistance Economy in Government

Hassan Rouhani announced that his government is determined to continue its programs for the 'realization of the resistance economy' with 'greater momentum' in the year 1395 (2016) and in the 'post-sanctions opportunity.' His first vice president also stated that this year 'the effects of the resistance economy must be observed in people's lives.' According to the state news agency IRNA, Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, stated on Sunday, April 8, during a meeting with the country's executive managers, that 'the operational approach of the eleventh government in the economic field is based on the principles of the resistance economy, and this trend will continue with greater strength in the post-sanctions opportunity.' Mr. Rouhani emphasized that 'the resistance economy, with an endogenous and outward-looking approach, is a capable economy that is unaffected by external threats but benefits from capital and technology.' He mentioned 'support for domestic production,' 'economic prosperity in all sectors while maintaining the declining inflation trend,' and 'constructive interaction with the world and attracting investment and new technologies to the country' as some of the 'emphasized points in the policies of the resistance economy.' On Tuesday, April 3, Mr. Rouhani also considered 'constructive interaction with the world' as one of the 'important sections in the resistance economy' and stated two days earlier that 'the resistance economy is the path of the government's economic programs.' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has named the year 1395 as 'Resistance Economy, Action and Practice,' as he has done in previous years. He has repeatedly emphasized the 'resistance economy,' which is used to describe an economy independent of foreign countries, especially during sanctions. In the last days of the previous year, during a meeting with members of the Assembly of Experts, the Iranian leader referred to the words of one of the commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who stated that 'even if they surround our country,' this institution would not face problems in missile production, saying, 'this means progress.' In contrast, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran, on March 22, 2016, without directly referring to Mr. Khamenei's remarks, stated: 'Can we be happy about being surrounded in today's world?' Mr. Rafsanjani also called for Iran's accession to the World Trade Organization, and some of his close associates, including Hossein Marashi, spokesman for the Construction Party, have called for attracting foreign investment to increase the country's economic growth. The head of the Expediency Discernment Council also stated on Sunday during a meeting with several ministers and managers of Hassan Rouhani's government that 'the resistance economy strengthens the foundations of the country and reveals the talents of domestic forces in the economic, cultural, and social sectors.' He emphasized that to achieve the 'resistance economy,' the country's resources and liquidity, which amount to about 900 trillion tomans, should be used to restart closed and semi-closed factories. Since Hassan Rouhani's government came to power, the inflation rate has been on a declining trend and has nearly halved compared to the previous government. However, the increase in the economic growth rate has not been uniform. In 2014, Iran's economic growth reached three percent, but this increase did not continue, and this figure was 0.7 percent in the first nine months of the previous year. Meanwhile, Eshaq Jahangiri, the first vice president, on Sunday requested the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade to develop a 'comprehensive program' to solve the problems of the country's production units and 'revive the production sector.' Mr. Jahangiri emphasized that 'in 1395, the effects of the resistance economy must be observed in people's lives.' He had previously announced on the first day of Farvardin that '12 national programs' have been developed with the aim of 'realizing the resistance economy.' In this context, the armed forces have also declared their readiness to achieve the 'resistance economy.'