In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
All praise is due to God, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master and our Prophet, Muhammad, and his untainted, pure, immaculate Progeny.
I am very pleased and appreciative of the honorable [woman and] gentlemen who spoke here, as their statements have been beneficial to both us and the entire audience. The exhibition that I had the opportunity to see yesterday was very exciting and exceptional. I believe we can introduce yesterday’s exhibition as an example of the country's scientific and technological prowess. The only regret I have is that these advancements have not been explained to the people, and most of the people of our country are definitely unaware of these efforts, the successes achieved, and the innovations of our exceptionally talented human resources.
Yesterday, I met with a number of exceptionally talented young individuals. I mean, I listened carefully to what they were saying and realized that they are all exceptionally talented. Fortunately, among the speakers who spoke today, some of them were young, and praise God, all of them were exceptionally talented as well. I believe that this is something to be grateful for, and we should thank Almighty God for this. All of these blessings are from God. [As mentioned in the Quran,] “Whatever blessing you have is from God” (Quran 16:53). All of these things are God's blessings. They are divine blessings that God has granted to you, the country, and of course, the officials. Let us appreciate and pursue these blessings.
I have written down a couple of the requests made by the gentlemen here so the government officials and the officials in my office work to establish committees and follow these matters up. The multifaceted industrial complexes that were mentioned are an important point. The matter of financing and the proposals that were put forth for medium-sized and small companies are correct, and these are important issue that need to be pursued.
The subject of modern ways of irrigation, which was suggested for agriculture, is about saving water, increasing agricultural production, and increasing the income of farmers. These are matters that are crucial for us. These are matters that are necessary for us. I urge our friends in the government to follow these matters up. That is, you must seriously form a committee for these matters, sit down and think about them, seek their own opinions on these, and work on this. Take action. Now, I will share some points about this as well.
The reality that one can clearly see is that the big producers in our country have experienced a significant growth over the years. This significant growth in the private sector — when I mention producers, I mean the private companies — is very meaningful. What it signifies is that the country has a powerful private sector. This is important news. Why?
Because this growth, progress, and the things that have been accomplished have all been done while under sanctions. This is in addition to the fact that in certain periods the government administrations did not work as they should have. We did not make satisfactory progress in the 1390s AHS [2011-2021 AD]. Nevertheless, we have achieved these things. This shows that in the current situation that exists in the country, the private sector is capable of propelling the country toward the desired objectives outlined in the 7th five-year Development Plan, namely, an 8 percent [economic] growth. That is, observing the work that is being done makes one really hope that we can achieve the desired growth.
A fundamental point from what I observed at the exhibition and in the summaries of the gentlemen’s talks was the presence of innovation. Not everyone has the ability to be innovative. An elite workforce has the ability to be innovative, and we have this great resource in our country. Now, some countries in our region claim that they plan to become the world's largest economy by a certain year. You cannot just become the world's largest economy with money alone; human resources are needed. Where are your human resources? They don’t have this.
That which can help us traverse difficult paths and propel the country to achieve excellence, to reach the mountaintop, is primarily a capable, elite workforce. We have an abundant wealth in that sense. As far as I am aware and as far as I know, there are very few countries around us that possess this level of wealth and blessings to the extent that we do. You can be sure that the substantial capacity that we possess — I mean our significant capacity in human resources — has the potential to benefit the country significantly more than what exists at present. This can help solve the country's major issues.
There are some major issues in the country that often go unnoticed. The issue of water is a major concern for the country. The imbalance in water is a fundamental problem for the country. It is the same with the issue of fuel. We truly have a problem with fuel. Should we, an oil-producing country, be importing gasoline considering all the underground resources that we have? Is this logical? It means that we have a problem concerning a major issue here. The same is true about electricity.
The country is facing various major issues, and imbalances in these issues cause the country to suffer, and this prevents many great things. Our private sector can truly help in these areas, as you just heard. If the private sector comes now, and let's say, for example, it produces 1,800 megawatts of electricity with a solar power plant, well, that is a very good thing. A private sector comes, makes an investment itself, and produces 1,800 megawatts of electricity. This is very valuable for the country.
If we encourage them, help them, and there is careful planning, the private sector can certainly both offer its ideas and actively participate in these comprehensive programs. This is our proposal to both the esteemed officials and to you who are active in the economy within the private sector.
There are a wide range of areas that need to be worked on. You have heard about some of these here, and I saw others yesterday at the exhibition. If the people who are present here now and who are all active in various sectors each say just one sentence, we will see there are a wide variety of fields that need to be worked on.
Take large industries such as the oil, gas, steel industries, or handicrafts, for example. People can participate in all of these various fields using their capital, intellect, skilled hands, and creativity to actively contribute and work. This will lead to an increase in the employment rate and a decrease in poverty. Therefore, these various areas exist, but both the government and those active in the economy should feel responsible. A sense of responsibility is necessary for both sides.
What I have written down to mention today regarding the government’s responsibility, is improving the business environment, which is an issue that has been extensively discussed before. The main point is that the government should remove the obstacles. In a similar meeting last year, I mentioned some of the obstacles preventing improvement in the business environment.
During this year's exhibition, which consisted of about 40 booths, I engaged in conversations with individuals active in various economic sectors. Some of them had complaints, and I realized their complaints were the same things that I had talked about before. Obviously, those recommendations were not implemented, but they must be. I strongly urge the government officials to pursue this matter.
Of course, government support is necessary. Government supervision is also necessary. There are certain regulations that must be followed. Who needs to do the monitoring? The government. Therefore, government supervision should definitely not be overlooked. However, supervision is different from interference. I heard yesterday that in some companies where the government and the private sector are partners, although the government's share is not large, the management of the company is in the hands of the government. I don't think this is logical. They should use the legal methods and leave the management to the people and the shareholders of the companies, but with supervision.
In recent years, after I announced, insisted on, and pursued the policies of Article 44, some of the work that was carried out was unsystematic, which was due to a lack of supervision. Wrong, incorrect things were done that were not good. Both the foreign currency and rial resources were affected, and those businesses themselves suffered. As a result, the people suffered. Some people took advantage of the situation. Government supervision is necessary and must be carried out. Therefore, what we object to is government interference, otherwise we believe that government monitoring is necessary.
Some certain barriers that I said need to be eliminated are brought by the government. That is, these obstacles stem from our existing bureaucratic framework and must be resolved from within the government. One specific example, as mentioned [by one of the speakers here], is the excessively lengthy three-year negotiation process required to obtain a permit for working in the upstream oil industry. It is incomprehensible why three years of negotiations should be necessary.
Well, a foreign company can come and sign a contract within a few months. It’s done and they can go. Why should it take so long for a domestic company to sign such a contract to work in the oil industry, which is so important, especially the upstream oil industry where they can extract oil, revive wells, and do other work? This is my question. Another concern is the existence of multiple decision-making centers and the conflict between various sectors.
A while ago, I received complaints from some of the people working in the mining sector. They said that conflicts had risen between the mining and environmental sectors, for instance, over executing a certain plan. These conflicts must be resolved because the mining sector is of great importance. I once had a conversation with a respected official where we were discussing the potential of the mining industry to completely replace the oil [industry]. It is clear how significant oil is for our country.
Some mines that have rare materials or even materials that cannot be found elsewhere in the world exist in our country. Making use of these mines, extracting resources from them, and working on them can create wealth in the country and facilitate the country’s progress. Now suppose someone chooses to work in the mining sector but encounters obstacles. It is important for these obstacles to be resolved in the government. That is, some problems and obstacles are directly related to the government itself and should be addressed and resolved internally. The decisions made by the respected President, the discussions held among the Ministers, and the Vice President's management should all play a role in resolving these issues.
Certain obstacles arise due to entities outside the administration, such as from the Judiciary, the Armed Forces, and other such groups, and this can cause conflicts. I believe the heads of the branches can address and resolve these issues during official meetings where they have the authority to take various actions and make numerous decisions. If they are unable to find a solution, they should inform the Leader and work to resolve the conflicts and solve the problems. This is, of course, a part of the administration’s responsibilities.
The private sector, as I mentioned previously, should also recognize its responsibilities. Being disciplined, adhering to essential regulations, following the law, and performing tasks correctly are some of their main duties. The private sector must comply with these, and the government should monitor them.
This gentleman who spoke about financing made me think more deeply about this issue. I have noted that we are dependent on a growth of money supply. The growth of money supply must be stopped. Certain measures have been taken in this area, there have been some positive results, and the growth of money supply has decreased. This growth of money supply is one of the problems our country is facing.
When we have contractionary policies in this area, the resources that banks can offer to those active in the economy become limited. How can we mitigate the negative impact of these restrictions on small and medium companies considering that they make up the majority of economic activities?
This requires management. This is a very important task that the Central Bank is responsible for. They should manage this in such a way that these limited resources that the banks can provide are not unfairly taken by the state-owned or privileged companies. What I am referring to is those stronger, more powerful companies with shrewd people and more connections. This must not be the case. This requires management, and justice should be upheld in the true sense.
If, God willing, these matters are observed, I believe our potential for economic advancement is very high. Our capacity is truly very great. We have a wealthy country. We have a wealth of natural resources, we have a wealth of human resources, and there is also a good relationship between our government and the nation. The government must help. One of the fields where it can help is in exports and foreign markets.
The measures taken by prominent global companies and large enterprises are facilitated by the support of their respective governments. Their governments support them. They open the way for them. This is one of the things that the government should do. In other words, economic diplomacy is a collaborative effort. One part of it is related to the private economic sector, and the other part is related to the country’s official diplomatic office, which needs to pursue this.
In any case, I am pleased and satisfied with the current state of affairs in the private sector. More effort is needed so that the private sector, the country’s investors, and entrepreneurs can effectively contribute to the future and economic progress of the country, and, God willing, can correct the economic situation.
We, of course, do face problems from the outside, such as sanctions and various enmities, but these can also be opportunities for us. Yesterday, one of the gentlemen who was at the exhibition told me that they sanctioned us, yet we have been able to achieve self-sufficiency. They threatened us, yet we have been able to ensure our safety. This is true.
Even though the sanctions are detrimental and have undoubtedly created problems, they can also be used as opportunities in the same way that our country, our youth, our people, and those in the economic sector have taken advantage of these opportunities in some places and we have achieved scientific advancements. If they had sold us weapons, we would not have reached where we are today in terms of weapons. If our satellites had not been removed from space one by one, and we had not been deprived of a space satellite, we would not have been driven to launch the Soraya Satellite into space today. I mean there would not have been a need for us to do this. It [a satellite] would have already been there. The sanctions pushed us to achieve these things. God willing, we will be able to use these opportunities more and more every day. God willing, may God grant you success. I will pray for you as well.
May God’s greetings, mercy, and blessings be upon you.
