Presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaei addresses people in Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque of Asalouyeh city in southern Iran on May 29, 2013.[/caption]Iranian presidential candidate, Mohsen Rezaei, says if elected, he would minimize the role of the government in running economic activities and create a multicultural economy independent of oil money.
We will take away the economy from the government institutions. We will take it away from any government institution that is involved in economy, whether it is the armed forces or ministries. The government, ministries and its related institutions are tasked with monitoring, guiding, and supporting [economic affairs]. The government is not supposed to interfere in the affairs that people can handle, Rezaei stated in a televised speech late on Thursday.
He criticized the countries oil-dependent economy as the root of all problems faced by different administrations in the past decade.
The secretary of Irans Expediency Council also stated that his economic revolution would consist of such components as facilitating tourism, expanding trade, stepping up production in various fields, and exporting non-oil products.
Rezaei said he plans to widely install mobile refineries in different provinces, especially in border areas, and sell their products to make up for nearly one million barrels of crude oil which Iran has not been able to sell due to western sanctions.
I estimate that 150 billion dollars can be earned by selling the products we can produce from the one million barrels of crude in question to neighboring countries, he added.
Rezaei will be competing against Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, President of the Center for Strategic Research of the Expediency Council Hassan Rohani, lawmaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili, former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, former First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, and former Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Gharazi in Iran's 11th presidential election.
On June 14, Iranians will cast their ballots at over 66,000 polling stations across the country, while some 285 polling stations will be set up for expatriates in other countries.
The president of Iran is elected for a four-year term in a national election after the Guardian Council vets the candidates.
By Press TV
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