On Sunday morning, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attended a session of Parliament’s open-floor debates for confidence votes to his candidates for 17 ministry positions that will take place in a few hours.
Rouhani spoke in defense of his picks, and voiced hope that his second-term administration would be formed and commence work as soon as possible, highlighting the need for increasing ‘work pace’ as the priority for his administration.
He underscored his focus on increasing employment rate through establishing security, freedom and peace, as well as attracting foreign investment and bringing in foreign technology.
He noted that the overall budget for his government is around USD 92 billion, adding that the country requires about USD 200 billion investment in oil and gas, hence the need for foreign investment.
The president then shifted his focus to the priorities of his second-term foreign ministry, deeming them ‘preserving the nuclear deal’ first, and ‘economic activities’ as second.
“Zarif’s biggest duty at the Foreign Ministry [for the next four years] is to protect Iran’s nuclear deal and prevent the US and other anti-Iran countries to succeed in their plots to kill the deal,” Rouhani said, adding “this is what I call a hero fighting against Arrogance.”
Rouhani also noted his insistence on picking ministers whose names have been established as a brand on the international scene, such as Zarif for foreign ministry, Bijan Zanganeh for ministry of petroleum, or Akhoundi for ministry of Road and Urban Development, who has been a formidable figure in signing major contracts with Airbus and Boeing after the implementation of the JCPOA and removal of sanctions.
President Rouhani further stressed that he has done his best to pick the best candidate for each ministry position, voicing hope that all 17 appointees would win a vote of confidence during today’s parliament session.
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