Tehran, March 1, IRNA � President Hassan Rouhani praised the vigilant participation of the Iranian nation from all walks of life in elections and said his government was ready to cooperate with the new parliament as before.


Speaking at an international conference on auto industry here on Tuesday, he said the election brought a new breath to the society by inspiring it for a better and more rapid movement towards progress and prosperity.

He said a nation and a government which lack the system of elections certainly missed the spirit of vitality and vigor.

The president believed the votes cast in the elections were �rather meaningful�.

He said the votes cast by people had lots to say and hoped all could learn well from the lessons the nation teaches.

Now, the President stressed, Iran is going through a phase where, after years of illegal and harsh sanctions which sabotaged the pace of development and growth for industries, it is trying to tell the world in a logical and eloquent language that Iranians are a peaceful people who advocate security, cooperation and interaction with the whole world.

In presidential elections two years ago, he said, the nation said in a loud voiced that it wanted moderation not extremism, that it wanted interaction with the world not confrontation and also said it wanted to solve its problems round a negotiation table, President Rouhani said.

He said his government has stood faithful to whatever promises it initially made to the nation and stressed that now the era of confrontation was over.

President Rouhani said the Iranian nation was certainly not going to forsake its rights and would never yield to pressures and sanctions but at the same time favored interaction with world nations.

He said that Iran since very long ago has served as the connection point for nations from four corners of the world and does want to play the same role again.

The Iranian nation needed to gain economic growth to be able to create employment for its young population, he added.

Stating that this goal is not easy to achieve, the President noted that the government succeeded to overcome the negative growth rate which loomed over the economy for eight seasons in a row and get to the plus three percent growth rate in last year.

This year, he said, the government suffered a number of problems due to world economic recession and plummeting oil prices but it managed to overcome them.

He said Iran�s nuclear agreement which resulted in removal of sanctions opened up new chances for the Iranian industry including the auto sectors.

President Rouhani made the remarks while addressing the 3rd edition of Iranian Automotive Industry Exhibition which is to conclude work today.

The two-day event hosted over 363 domestic and 138 foreign companies from 32 countries.

President Rouhani is also scheduled to pay a visit to the Iran Automotive Industry's Capabilities exhibition (February 28-March 2, 2016) after his address.

The Iranian Automotive Industry Exhibition is underway in the capital Tehran.

The 4-day event is aimed at helping international car makers get a better view of the Iranian auto market. Some 212 Iranian auto domestic companies are putting on their products in an area covering 35,000 square meters.

By IRNA