TEHRAN- A review of the speeches of the Martyr Leader shows how much he emphasized the importance of paying attention to economic issues. According to Khabar Online news agency, the Martyr Leader consistently raised economic issues on various occasions and had certain emphases in this regard.

A review of his statements shows how serious the issue of production was for him, and he always stressed looking inward and relying on the abilities of the youth and the knowledge of this land.

Combating corruption and maintaining economic security, along with curbing inflation, boosting production, and increasing employment, were issues that he emphasized.

The naming of years with an economic theme also indicates how important the economic category was in his thought.

The point here is that, alongside paying attention to the resistance economy, he also emphasized utilizing modern knowledge and paying attention to the knowledge-based economy.

•          Importance of production

Production can be considered the main axis of the economic system of the Martyr Leader of the Revolution. A concept that, over the past two decades, has been repeatedly emphasized under various titles and approaches. From "production boom" and "production leap" to "supports and removing obstacles", "production; knowledge-based and job-creating", and finally "investment for production", all indicate that the view of production is not merely about increasing the quantity of goods or services.

In his Nowruz message in 1403, he emphasized: "After studying the opinions of experts on this issue, I have come to the conclusion that one key to solving the country's economic problems is the issue of production; domestic production, national production, and that is why we have relied on production in these past few years. If the growth of production and the forward movement of national production are achieved optimally, many important economic problems, such as inflation, employment, and the value of the national currency, will move well towards resolution. The issue of production is therefore an important one, and for this reason, this year too I am relying on the issue of production and I expect, I hope that, God willing, a leap will occur in production this year, and I sincerely believe that this leap will not happen without the participation of the people and without the presence of the people. If we want to have a production leap, we must make the economy people-oriented, we must open the door for the people to enter the production arena in a tangible way, and remove the obstacles to their presence. There are great capacities in the people's sector... These capacities must be activated, they must be used for the benefit of the country and the people. Hence, on this occasion, I have set this year's slogan as: 'Production Leap with the Participation of the People' – this is this year's slogan. We hope that, God willing, this slogan will be realized in the best possible way. The country's planners should plan, experts should collaborate intellectually, and economic activists should practically participate in this work, God willing."

In September 2023, in a meeting with members of the cabinet, he said: "Cultural support for domestic production means that we make the people understand that domestic products should be consumed; that is, where domestic products exist, people should go towards domestic products; this is the most important cultural support for production. Of course, a complement to these supports is monitoring to prevent deviation; we have had periods where foreign exchange and rial resources were given to some for production and were not used for production! It is not a matter of a little or a lot, the amounts have been very large; fraud has occurred here; we must ensure that this and similar incidents do not happen."

In April 2023, in a meeting with workers, he emphasized: "Production is the backbone of the country; that is, the backbone of the country's economy is 'production'; the backbone of production is the worker. We must not allow the worker, i.e., this backbone, to be weakened. This year [in our slogan] we said: production growth. Well, how is production growth achieved? A major part of production growth is related to workers; [if] they follow their work with warmth and enthusiasm, this will happen. So, let both the honorable officials and those who invest and create jobs and workshops pay attention that for production growth and improving conditions, improving the worker's life must be considered a fundamental principle."

In April 2020, he emphasized: "We said a production leap; why do we say a production leap? Because we are lagging behind in terms of production. We need to expand production more, strengthen production more, and advance production more."

He also said in April 2021, in a televised message: "In our opinion, the best and most successful way to neutralize sanctions is this real effort – not sloganistic effort; real effort – to strengthen national production. If we can properly strengthen national production, truly strengthen and pursue it with planning and follow-up, rest assured that the sanctions will first be neutralized and then lifted; that is, when the other side sees that the country has not been harmed by the sanctions and has come to life and its internal efforts have increased, it will inevitably be forced to remove the sanctions."

•          Attention to resistance economy

One of the most important points emphasized in the speeches of the Martyr Leader is the issue of the resistance economy. He has referred to this term on numerous occasions in his speeches. Since the announcement of the general policies of the resistance economy, this concept has been proposed as a strategy to increase the resilience of the country's economy against sanctions, external shocks, and global market fluctuations.

In April 2023, in a meeting with workers, he said: "Let both the honorable officials and those who invest and create jobs and workshops pay attention that for production growth and improving conditions, improving the worker's life must be considered a fundamental principle. Another point is the fair share of income from labor, which we included and discussed in the policies of the resistance economy; it was discussed a long time ago. The worker's share, as human capital – which is a human resource, human capital that has a greater impact than material capital – in creating value for the product of labor, should be taken into account. Well, now I want to deduce a point from this, and that is, if we want the worker's share in creating value to rise, we must plan for worker training, skill acquisition, and experience acquisition, which, of course, was also in the remarks of the honorable minister; this must be taken very seriously. The share of a skilled, experienced, trained, and innovative worker in creating value for the product of labor goes much higher; accordingly, his share of income also rises."

On the first day of Iranian year 1402 (March 21, 2023), he also emphasized: "We said the resistance economy is 'inward-looking' and 'outward-looking'; it is inward-looking, meaning that domestic capabilities, talents, and capacities must be placed at the service of the economy, and of course, it is outward-looking, meaning we are ready for economic relations with all countries."

In January 2020, he said: "We must regulate and plan our economy in such a way that we can manage the country well even in the presence of sanctions; I have repeated this many times, and I am saying it again now. Let us assume that sanctions will not be lifted – of course, sanctions are gradually becoming ineffective; they are becoming a verbal formality, but even if sanctions remain – we must plan our economy so that we do not face problems in the country's economy due to the imposition or removal of sanctions and the enemy's maneuvers. This is possible; I am not saying this, economic experts and well-wishers say it; they say this is possible, and domestic capacities are very abundant. And we have announced this as a policy, which is the policy of the 'resistance economy' that must be pursued vigorously and seriously. Therefore, the definitive answer to the issue of sanctions is this; saying to do this or that is nonsense; sanctions are a betrayal, a crime against the Iranian nation that must be lifted."

•          Attention to popularizing economy

The importance of the people and popular participation was also one of the constant and important keywords in the statements of the martyred Leader. He always believed in the participation of the people in all areas, especially the economic sphere. Hence, he repeatedly emphasized handing over economic affairs, strengthening the private sector, attracting small investments, expanding cooperatives, and reducing government intervention.

In April 2024, in a meeting with workers, he emphasized: "The people's economy is one of the important issues of the country today; that is why in recent years, in our annual slogans, we have relied on sensitive economic points. This year [1403] we also said 'production leap,' not 'production increase'; 'leap'! How is a leap achieved? Through the participation of the people. I firmly believe, and the opinion of all our expert economists is the same, that if the people enter the economic arena, especially if they enter the production arena, production will leap; when production leaps, the country becomes wealthy, the people become wealthy, the worker's pocket fills, the worker's hands are full, employment increases, unemployment decreases, and many worker and economic problems in the country are resolved. This is the issue of the economy."

In a meeting with workers, he emphasized: "I firmly believe... that if the people enter the economic arena, especially if they enter the production arena, production will leap."

In his Nowruz speech in 1403 before various segments of the people, he said: "For the country's economy to flourish, all the large and small gears of the country must start working; everyone must strive; both the country's infrastructure must be utilized, and public initiatives, and the management power of economic and managerial activists; young educated forces must be truly utilized; knowledge-based companies must be supported; these are all tools and means that, if paid attention to collectively, will undoubtedly bring the country's economy to prosperity... Well, this is what we have in mind in this year's slogan [Production Leap with the Participation of the People]. We believe that reliance must be placed on the issue of the economy, and for success in this path, the true participation of the people must be utilized; we want all forces to be mobilized in this path. This is the skill of our officials to find the way and make this move, God willing."

In February 2023, he also said: "The field for participation... [of the people in the economy] is very extensive... From major industries like oil, gas, and steel to, for example, handicrafts; in all this vast and extensive field, there is a possibility for people's participation; people's capital, people's minds, people's capable hands, people's active and innovative fingertips can become active and work [so that] employment will increase and poverty will decrease. Therefore, these extensive fields exist; however, both government agencies must feel responsibility and economic activists themselves must feel responsibility; that is, responsibility is necessary from both sides."

•          Importance of knowledge-based economy

Attention to the knowledge-based economy also has a prominent presence in the speeches of the Martyr Leader. He always called on officials and the youth to utilize opportunities, modern science, and so on.

In his Nowruz speech in 1401, he said: "Job creation will be achieved through these knowledge-based companies; that is, if we can truly produce and create these companies without making the mistakes sometimes made in the past, employment will also increase. I mentioned past mistakes; in different governments, we had plans with various names to provide banking facilities to individuals to increase production; almost all these plans were unsuccessful; almost all of them were unsuccessful. Pumping money and acting carelessly will not get anywhere; this work must be done with great precision, study, and proper execution, and the activities of knowledge-based companies must be formed in a chain-like manner. Of course, I have also kept in mind that some recent decisions taken in decision-making centers might hurt some small and medium-sized companies in the country; the government and banks should not allow this damage to occur."

In February 2021, he also said: "In recent years, we have relied on knowledge-based industries; it has been repeated again and again, stated, and supported; and it has been good, meaning several thousand knowledge-based industries and enterprises have been established, and good efforts have been made in this field, small and medium units have been created; what has been neglected is that we must make our own large industries knowledge-based. The oil industry must become knowledge-based. We have a technological backwardness in the field of the oil industry. Some countries in the region are far ahead of us in terms of the type of oil extraction and the technology used in such places; we have a backwardness in this area. Well, who should compensate for this backwardness? From whom should we get help? Must a foreign company come and bring us technology? No, I do not believe that. Well, you see how foreign companies act; they do not come, or if they do, they do not act honestly, or they come and abandon the work halfway under some pretext, or they come and exploit us. I am not generally opposed to the arrival of foreign companies, but we must choose. My belief is that efficient domestic entities can do this work for us; this is my belief. In my opinion, if, for example, the officials of the oil industry ask the youth and take their opinions and reflect the help they need to our educated, knowledgeable, talented, and motivated youth, they can certainly solve many problems."

Many experts believe that delving into the opinions and views of the martyred Leader can untie the knots of many economic problems and serve as a beacon for understanding the difficulties in this area. It is expected that officials, considering the economic conditions and the general situation of the country, will implement a practical plan to increase economic independence, rely on domestic capacities, and explain and implement resistance economy programs based on modern global science and new capacities.