View from Iran: Oil, Black Curse
23 April 2004
Interesting viewpoint from the Persian Journal.
However, given Iran’s immense economical and social potential, the fact that petroleum incomes have always formed the kernel of the export revenues is indeed a great shame. Yet, the regime's reluctance, bequeathed from the preceding one, to focus on the country's non-oil potential, is an outright invitation to havoc.
Iran isn't a desert kingdom like Saudi Arabia, where 95% of the country is littered with deserts and only a tiny percentage of the country is arable and inhabitable. Nor can Iran’s unutilised potential can be juxtaposed with a country like Kuwait, whose existence is attributable to petroleum. However, when one investigates the portrait of the foregoing countries’ export records, it will be rather easy to remark on the similarity of their economies: dependence on oil.
While Iran’s dependence on petroleum seems to have retarded the true development of industry throughout the entire century, Iran’s neighbour, Turkey, which has always been noted for its bleak economical state, has been aspiring to come up with new ways of encouraging the flow of capital inside the country to help the country's ailing economy. Interesting to say, despite being devoid of petroleum, Turkey’s recent export records, which stood at $37.6 billion comparing to Iran’s $22 billion display the endeavour made by our neighbour trying to stay alive.
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