TEHRAN – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that before drawing up the sixth economic development plan, an accurate assessment should be made about the factors behind the failure of the previous five-year development plans. In order to fully identify the hurdles to effective development, studies should be carried out to prevent the repetition of those things which actually made it impossible to achieve the goals that were set, Rouhani said at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Activating the private sector, developing the agricultural sector, strengthening human resources, creating jobs, improving macroeconomic indices, such as economic growth and the capital market, increasing the role of banks in financing projects, boosting productivity, developing infrastructure projects, such as railroads and ports, facilitating the import of new technologies, managing water resources, stabilizing the foreign exchange market, and prioritizing higher education, which is necessary for the job market, are some of the priorities for drafting the sixth five-year development plan, the Iranian president stated. Rouhani also said the construction of housing by the private sector to meet the needs of citizens is also a necessity. In the meeting, the cabinet members held discussions on ways to draft the sixth development plan, which will run from 2015 to 2020, based on the report provided by the director of the Planning and Strategic Supervision Center. The Planning and Strategic Supervision Center replaced the Budget and Planning Organization, which was abolished in the early months of the administration of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.