Iran can do without oil

In the past four months, oil prices have plummeted at a rate that has been unprecedented for decades, and it is undoubtedly the oil-rich nations with their economies dominated by crude that have lost the most from this trend.

For single-product economies such as Iran, dependence on oil revenues is no longer a secure policy. Instead, it is one that puts growth and progress at stake. Iran has been dependent on oil for several decades, but with the current global economic situation, alternatives must be sought for economic objectives to be achieved.

An economy without oil has been, for several years now, the motto of Iran's economic circles. Scholars and economists from the public and private sector have been studying the feasibility of such an ambition, which could shape the destiny and pattern of life in this country for decades to come. It is essential that the decisions made and strategies formulated by this debate are exhaustive and carefully measured as the fate of future generations is at stake.

There are of course pessimists who argue that the objective of an 'economy without oil' would require an extravagant amount of time and is full of unforeseen obstacles that could prove insurmountable. No doubt, such an ambitious venture would be lengthy, complicated and very hard to accomplish but in today's rapidly changing and unstable global economy, there is no other option. More