At the end of his visit to North Khorasan, the President mentioned the establishment of a production chain and complementary industries, the development of a petrochemical complex, the activation of border markets, the establishment of a permanent market for handicrafts and the acceleration of the Mashhad-Gorgan railway project as the government’s most important decisions for accelerating the process of development in the province stated”.
At the end of his visit to North Khorasan province on Thursday evening, Ayatollah Dr Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi had a meeting with local reporters, and expressed his condolences on the death of a number of Afghans in the earthquake, and prayed to God for patience for the bereaved families.
The President emphasised, "The provinces bordering Afghanistan will do whatever they can to help the people of Afghanistan”.
Dr Raisi stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran has always been at the forefront of humanitarian aid, adding, "If NATO and the United States had given the opportunity, the people of Afghanistan would have built strong houses for themselves. The people of this country are really oppressed”.
Regarding the capacities of North Khorasan province, the president said, "This province has good capacities in the field of agriculture, but the problem is that the production chain is not complete here”.
Regarding the problems of Khorasan Petrochemical, Ayatollah Raisi pointed out, "The province's petrochemical industry must be developed. This complex can increase the employment capacity of up to 3,000 people”.
Regarding the water problems of Khorasan Petrochemical, Dr Raisi stated, "Instead of drinking water, effluent should be used in this complex and drinking water should be provided to the people”.
The President considered it necessary to create suitable conditions for the supply of handicrafts in this province and said, "Unfortunately, instead of handicraft producers making the main profit of their products, brokers get this profit”.
Ayatollah Raisi referred to the existence of a 300-kilometer border with Turkmenistan and said, "With such capacities, border markets should be activated”.
The President referred to the important Gerkan-Mashhad railway project that has remained dormant, saying, "The construction of this project has been discussed for many years and it was decided to follow the implementation of this railway route”.
Dr Raisi said that the need for economic growth depends on increasing investment and improving productivity, and said, "Large companies have united to make a large investment in the country, and banks are moving in the direction of jump starting the process and revolutionary institutions such as the Mostazafan Foundation and the private sector also have come to work”.
Ayatollah Raisi added, "We try to support the private sector to guarantee their capital and profits”.
"Elimination of unemployment and job creation is one of the central programmes of the government," the president said.
Dr Raisi pointed out, "We created a special budget in the form of the Justice and Development Fund for the first time in the provinces of the country, the income of which is supplied from the sale of surplus property in the province and receiving property rights of mines and is spent for the development of the province”.