New Industry Minister Prioritizes Provision of Basic Goods
IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK
TEHRAN – Majlis lawmakers gave their vote of confidence to President Hassan Rouhani’s nominee for the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, Alireza Razm-Hosseini.
During an open session of the parliament on Tuesday, Razm-Hosseini was approved with 175 in favor, 80 against and 9 abstentions.
Razm-Hosseini, a veteran of the imposed Iraqi war in the 1980s, earlier served as the governor of his birthplace Kerman province from 2013 to 2018.
President Hassan Rouhani’s previous pick for the ministry, Hossein Modarres Khiabani, had earlier failed to garner the minimum number of votes by the Parliament members for the post.
Addressing the Majlis session and before voting, Razm-Hosseini highlighted his programs and said the priority of his ministry in case he wins vote of confidence would be provision of basic and necessary goods for the public.
He added that regulation of the market through cooperation with unions and syndicates as well as reforming the policies for regulating the market would be of his major programs.
He reiterated that he would be tough on middlemanship and would combat it.
On the car market, Razm-Hosseini said that there is monopoly in the national auto industry and this industry is not competitive and the final cost of the products is high. He added that dependence of some auto parts to foreign countries and the high final cost due to fluctuation of the forex price are the other reasons for the chaos in the car market.
He also called for completion of steel chain and fair distribution in the steel industry, adding this industry needs a serious attention.
Razm-Hosseini further noted that easing the trade, barter of exported goods in exchange of goods whose imports are necessary, banning the imports of unnecessary goods, expansion of exports to neighboring states and activating the preferential trade like agreement with Eurasian Union are of other major plans of the minister in the trade sector.
He added that breaking the monopoly in trade, industry, and imports and exports are on his agenda, reiterating combatting with corruption is a difficult job but he has plans to eliminate the golden signature which is the root of any rent-seeking and he is ready for it and attacks and defamation.
He reiterated that he would try to make all activities in the ministry a transparent one and all should work to accomplish the e-government process in the ministry in order to cut the physical contacts of people with the ministry.
The former Khorasan Razavi Province governor general added that he can apply his experience as a governor general in his job especially in exports.
