SEMNAN – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that the subsidy reform plan has fostered friendship among people.

“Now, after the implementation of the subsidy reform plan, people show greater affection and mercy toward each other,” Ahmadinejad told a gathering of intellectuals and academics in Semnan on Wednesday.
Ahmadinejad also elaborated on the reasons behind the successful implementation of the subsidy reform plan over the past 17 days.
“The first reason is that the servants of the nation have put time and energy and held meetings every night (to identify and rectify the problems created by the implementation of the reform),” he said.
He cited the mutual trust between the nation and the government as the second reason for the relative success of the plan so far.
As the third reason, he said this plan brings justice and equity, so people backed the implementation of the reform.
“Otherwise, it was impossible that a nation gets united behind the implementation of such a problematic plan,” he added.
Subsidy reform plan went into effect on December 19, in line with a directive issued by President Ahmadinejad.
The subsidy reform plan calls for the subsidies on fuel, electricity, and certain goods to be removed over the course of five years. The administration has decided to pay cash subsidies for an undetermined period of time to compensate low-income families for the inflationary repercussions of the plan.