TEHRAN – President Ayatollah Seyed Ebrahim Raisi wrapped up his 24th provincial visit on Thursday evening by holding a press conference.

Raisi arrived in Shahrekord, the capital of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, on Thursday morning and was welcomed by the provincial representative of the Supreme Leader and the Friday prayer leader of Shahrekord, the governor-general and a group of local officials.

The ministers of the interior, agriculture, energy, cooperatives, labor, tourism, and the vice-president for executive affairs and the president’s chief of staff accompanied the president on his trip. 

Upon his arrival at Shahrekord Airport, he spoke to reporters on the tarmac.

"It is an honor for me and my colleagues to be in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province today," he told reporters. 

Referring to the capacities of the province and the existence of untamed nature in this region, the president added, "There are many fields for the development of agriculture, animal husbandry and tourism in this province, and above all, talented and qualified human resources, especially educated young people”.

Raisi pointed out, "Using these capacities can solve problems. It is certainly not acceptable that the dear and brave people of this province witness poverty or unemployment.”

“God willing, poverty, unemployment and deprivation will be eliminated, and we hope that this will be pursued with the efforts of the people and with the service of the government,” he said, according to the official website of the Iranian presidency.

"Our plan is to have a serious look at the semi-finished projects," he said, adding, “In this province, as in other provinces across the country, we are witnessing semi-finished projects that are hurting the people. A project started many years ago and still remains, and people are waiting for these projects and plans to yield results, like the water supply projects that we have in the province. It is planned that this issue will reach a definite conclusion and result this year.”

During his trip, Ayatollah Raisi held meetings with local people and officials. He also visited a village and a number of economic facilities. 

"The Iranian nation is serious about its right”
Speaking on Thursday afternoon in a meeting with different groups in the province, he reacted to the censure resolution adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors. 

“The Iranian nation is serious about its right. Did you think that if you issue a resolution against Iran in the Board of Governors, we will withdraw from our positions? In the name of God and the great nation of Iran, we will not take a single step back from our positions,” he said. 

The president continued, "Didn't you issue several statements and resolutions in international organizations against Iran due to your political influence? Did you achieve anything? Didn’t you sit around the tables about Palestine and decide against the oppressed people of Palestine and the Palestinian warriors and issue resolutions? Were these measures effective? Were the Camp David, Sharm el-Sheikh, Oslo, and other agreements that you signed by persuading some Palestinians and some Arabs lead anywhere? Today, the one who has the initiative is the Palestinian warriors in the field.”

The president wrapped up his trip with a press conference on Thursday evening. “Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari has many capacities in agriculture, tourism and natural resources that if used properly, can help solve the problems of the province, including in the field of job creation,” he said. 

Raisi added, "During this trip, I got acquainted with the remarkable capacities of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari in the field of tourism, and I can say with confidence that activating the maximum tourism capacities of the province can certainly solve a significant part of the unemployment problem in the province.”

Noting that the further development and prosperity of agriculture in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari has also been considered as one of the solutions to solve the employment problem in the province, Ayatollah Raisi noted, “The necessary funds for the decisions of the Popular Administration’s visit to Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari have been approved and the relevant officials in the province and in Tehran should focus their efforts on allocating these funds as soon as possible.”