Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke Wednesday at the opening of the Economic Cooperation Organization summit in Tehran that brings together 10 regional countries. President Ahmadinejad blamed the West for the global economic meltdown, declaring that capitalism has failed and that the capitalist system was close to collapse. "After the collapse of the closed socialist economy," he said, "the capitalist economy is also on the brink of disintegration, and despite all the efforts taken to
| "It is clear that the same principles which have triggered the collapse cannot be used to reverse it." |
Mr. Ahmadinejad noted that capitalist organizations across the world have pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into the market to save major corporations and banks but they have not yet admitted that capitalism has failed.
During Wednesday's summit, Mr. Ahmadinejad also called for greater regional economic integration and urged member states to begin discussing the establishment of a single currency and a bank that would promote trade. Iran's closest neighbors and key trading partners, include Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kirgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Mr. Ahmadinejad, who is up for re-election in June, has repeatedly lashed out at the West for the current financial crisis. But he has been under fire at home for Iran's economic woes.
Iran has inflation in the mid-20 percent range and chronic unemployment, which stands at about 30 percent by unofficial estimates.