ARDEBIL -- Abdollah Ramezanzadeh said on Thursday that considering the achievements, made in the economic sector, prospects for the country is bright and promising. Addressing the Fifth Shahid Rajaei Festival, he added, "Considering the fundamental activities in the economic arena, the country is currently in the process of growth and the proper ground for development has been prepared."

He said that contrary to some points of view, the government has made significant achievements in the economic domain.

He pointed to the formation of the hard currency fund, increasing its deposit, boosting the oil price, the rise in the value of the national currency, reducing the inflation rate, stabilizing the hard currency rate, increasing investment in oil and gas as some of the economic achievements attained by the government.

"Iran's economic reliance is such that for the very first time the country's foreign trade partners have not asked the government to submit the Central Bank of Iran's (CBI) guarantee for investment in a petrochemical project," he added.

Ramezanzadeh said that the risk factor in investment has dropped from six in 1997 to four in the current year which has resulted in an annual gain of 1.5 billion dollars.

Referring to employment as the most significant problem, he said that to keep the unemployment rate stable we need to create 750,000 new jobs annually.

Pointing to the fact that the state financial means are not sufficient to materialize the required employment, he underlined the need to attract foreign investment and called for the contribution of domestic investors as well.

He said that economic safety should be optimized to such an extent that investors would feel safe to proceed with investment.

"Our society is dynamic and it is moving forward," he said.

He referred to the existence of strong critics and their harsh criticism as one of the reasons for the government's success in moving headlong to the set goals.

Meanwhile, Ramezanzadeh expressed pleasure over the pace of progress in the relations between Iran and Azerbaijan over the past few months.

Talking to reporter, Ramezanzadeh commented on the Iran-Azerbaijan relations and said the exchange of delegations between the two states is sign of good neighborly relations.

He called for better Tehran-Baku ties due to the existing potentials in both regional states.

He said Tehran enjoys excellent ties with its neighbors including Azerbaijan while adding that Iran's policy consists of a strong political will to boost relations with neighboring countries.

He went on to say that any discrepancies could be solved through negotiations and peaceful talks adding that minimal differences are far from being a factor to strain bilateral ties.

Ramezanzadeh said Iran and Azerbaijan are pressing ahead with their negotiations to solve issues as for the Caspian Sea.

One could think of "marathon talks" but these talks would result in the settlement of issues.

The spokesman added that the shared cultural commonalities between the two countries put them on a path of closer bilateral cooperation and said that the Azeri President Heydar Aliyev's visit to Iran and agreements on mutual cooperation signed during the trip have opened a new chapter in bilateral relations.

In the recent visit of the Azeri President Heydar Aliyev to Tehran, some letters of understanding were signed by Iranian and Azerbaijani heads of state on economic, cultural and scientific cooperation.

He noted that Iran is a Muslim state whose policy is to defend the interests of the Muslim world while respecting the principle of nonintervention in the internal affairs of other states.

In response to questions by journalists as for the U.S. possible attack on Iraq, he said Iran is opposed to using force to topple a country's regime on the international stage.

The fate of each country should be determined by its people and no other state has the right to meddle in the internal affairs of states, he noted.

Back to the Iran-Azerbaijan ties, Ramezanzadeh said exchange of visits between Iranian and Azeri authorities are indicative of a firm political will by both states to improve mutual ties.

He elaborated on the religious, lingual and cultural affinities between Iran and Azerbaijan and said the two nations ties are not to the likings of some nations, making it necessary for the officials in the two countries to be vigilant in safeguarding the improving bilateral relations.

The five coastal states of the Caspian Sea have not yet agreed on a formula over the legal regime of the sea to exploit its resources, according to the press reports.

Iran calls for a condominium or common sovereignty on the sea and has made it known that it considers any unilateral deals for energy exploration in the Caspian Sea as null and void before the issue of legal regime of the Caspian is settled, IRNA reported.

Iran believes the agreements of 1921 and 1940 between Moscow and Tehran are still valid until a new legal regime of the Caspian Sea is drawn up.

President Khatami kicked off previously a five-nation central Asian tour with a visit to Ashkhabad, capital of Turkmenistan, where he took part in a ground-breaking summit on the Caspian Sea to contribute to efforts to develop a new legal status for the Caspian Sea that could apportion the sea's resources to the satisfaction of all five claimants.