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Tehran, YJC. Velayati believes that to have a robust economy one needs to strengthen foreign relations.
Velayati, who was speaking in the 3rd Conference of the Society for Polymer and Petrochemicals Engineers, said "We must move toward weaning our revenues from oil.”
A member of the coalition of three in the presidential elections, Velayati considered the export of oil and gas to be a major treason and asserted "So far whenever the talk was directed at non-oil products they would say other than oil, Iran has carpet, pistachio, and saffron.”
"But these could not give us decent revenue,” he further said, "whereas the petrochemical industry, with its oil value added, can provide the country with proper outcome.”
He added "Some years ago we offered a plan on gas in the region. It was to loop the country around with gas pipeline. The pipeline could establish good transit opportunities with low cost.”
He then asserted "Every country’s security is determined outside of its borders. Imam Ali said that no people will get miserable unless they sit in their houses and let the enemy go about them. Therefore, if we enjoy high degrees of security it is because we have dug our trenches outside our borders.”
Velayati stated "Today no power is able to draw war inside Iran, because one small group of our allies could drag 3 million Israelite underground in 8 days and only with a number of small missiles.”
He added "One must think before talking and avoid disparate words, because we must look for stability and peace, two terms indispensable to progress. Iran’s foreign relations must be fixed.”
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