Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 17/ Trend F.Milad/
The Subsidy Reform Plan has helped Iran reduce the unemployment rate and continue economic growth in the current year despite analysts'
speculations that the inflation rate will soon surge, the Iranian finance minister said.
Shamseddin Hosseini told Mehr that the unemployment rate fell to 11.1 percent in the second quarter of the current calendar year from 13.6 percent during the same period last year.
The country's economic growth rate reached 5.5 percent during the previous calendar year, the minister said in December.
"The Subsidy Reform Plan is being implemented amid tight international sanctions. It shows our economic stability," ISNA quoted Mohammadreza Farzin as saying.
The plan, launched in December 2010 allows the Iranian government to gradually slash subsidies on fuel, electricity, and certain goods over five years, with low-income families being compensated with direct cash handouts.
Iran needs up to $300 billion in FDI to meet the objectives of its fifth five-year development plan (2010-2015) and reach an eight-percent economic growth rate, the Iranian deputy finance and economic affairs minister said in October.
The country needs around $1 trillion in investments by the end of the fifth development plan," Behrouz Alishiri told the ILNA news agency.