Statements in Meeting with Producers and Economic Activists

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad and his pure family, and God's curse be upon all their enemies.

Welcome, dear brothers and sisters; I particularly emphasize to the esteemed officials present here, Mr. Mokhber, the esteemed First Vice President, and the ministers and deputies of the esteemed President, to pay attention to the points made by the speakers here - the respected brothers and the esteemed sister who spoke.

One of the most important benefits of this meeting is that you esteemed officials hear the problems and obstacles faced by economic activists directly from them. From what I gather from the overall remarks, there are actually two main tasks for the officials that I request Mr. Mokhber and the friends to pay attention to: one is the issue of creating a strategic roadmap for the entire industry of the country, especially for certain industries, and the other is centralized management and guidance. Of course, everyone knows my opinion; I do not agree with government intervention and state apparatus in economic activities, but I do agree with their guidance, oversight, and assistance; this must definitely be done. Therefore, a strategic roadmap and comprehensive management are necessary tasks. Friends from our office who are here should note the points that the friends addressed to me and requested from us and our office, and provide them to me so that, God willing, we can follow up.

Well, we had a similar meeting here in Aban 1398. Recently, some of those friends who spoke and were present in that meeting wrote to me, reflecting both the successes they have achieved in these two years and their failures. In these two years since that meeting, thanks be to God, the groups from that meeting have had good successes and advancements, but they have also faced failures; some of these failures are related to the lack of cooperation from executive bodies, meaning the assistance that state apparatus should have provided but did not; therefore, the economic activist could not accomplish what they intended and could have done; some are also related to other factors such as smuggling and similar issues; of course, the issue of sanctions has also had significant impacts in isolating successes.

Well, I start my remarks this way: our country's economy faced a very important and significant war in 1390; that is, we had an economic war. The entity opposing us was primarily the U.S. government and some of its allies in Europe and other places; they officially declared war against the Islamic Republic. This opposition and struggle from the enemy intensified from 1397. Their goal in this war was the collapse of the Iranian economy; that was their intention. Of course, the collapse of the economy was a prelude to turning the people against the Islamic Republic system by destroying the Iranian economy and implementing their malicious political objectives through this means; that was the enemy's goal. Their calculations were wrong; I have been told - I have not investigated this myself - that the Americans had set a timeline for this collapse; six months; they thought they could destroy the Iranian economy within six months - I have not followed this up and do not know, but this is what they said - the enemy could not. Instead of six months, ten years have passed, and in these ten years, the intensity of this war has increased day by day, but the bastion of production and the economy of the country, thanks be to God, remains steadfast and alive. The army that stood against the enemy was you; the officers of this sacred defense were the entrepreneurs and capable economic managers; the warriors were the workers; the workers were the sincere and pure-hearted warriors of this field. All of you and all economic activists share in this honor - the honor of preserving the economy of the country - of course, there have been damages that I will briefly refer to later.

In my opinion, if in these years the government officials had cooperated more and adhered more, we would have achieved greater honors, and our situation would certainly have been better than what it is today, and many of the damages that occurred over these years would not have happened with the help of government officials.

I emphasize here that it is good for the successes you mentioned here to be heard by the people; one of the enemy's tactics is psychological warfare. Alongside this economic war, the real and true war, the enemy also conducts psychological warfare in various fields, including economic fields; it is good for the people to know about your successes; the national media should broadcast this from the producers themselves [rather than just from government officials]; it is better for truths to be expressed from the voices of the producers, the economic activists, so that the people become aware of them.

However, I mentioned the damages. The economic statistics of the 1390s - the macroeconomic statistics of the country - are truly and fairly disappointing: the statistics related to GDP growth, the statistics related to capital formation in the country, the statistics related to inflation, the statistics related to money supply growth; these are not encouraging. The statistics related to the provision of machinery are by no means satisfactory, nor are those related to housing and similar matters. These are realities that if the officials could have guided the situation in a better direction regarding these statistics, certainly the state of the country's economy today would be much better. Well, the effects of these realities have also manifested in people's lives. Our concern about people's livelihoods is related to these issues. The cause of these problems is not solely the sanctions; of course, sanctions have undoubtedly been effective, but they are not the only cause; a significant part stems from some wrong decisions or negligence and similar issues; it could have been different.

According to all experts - both domestic and foreign economic experts - our country possesses great economic capacity; that is, we can have a situation that is several times better than what we have today. These capabilities exist; we have abundant resources and reserves, and there are many capacities that efficient, hardworking, and devoted managers should utilize. There are successful examples in the economy; you, those who came and spoke, the friends who spoke, are successful examples; they have utilized these existing capacities of the country; thus, we have successful examples, thanks be to God.

And the enterprises that did not wait for the lifting of sanctions. One of the points you could have used in your remarks - although they did not explicitly state it, but the reality is - is that none of them waited for the sanctions to be lifted or for negotiations somewhere to reach a conclusion; no, they did their work, made their efforts, and achieved these good results. This is the same point I always repeat: do not condition the economy of the country and economic activities on some issue that is beyond our control; let us put our efforts and needs to work. And thanks be to God, we have very good capacities in this regard.

Well, the recommendations I have made in this regard to the officials and others are many, and we do not want to repeat those recommendations now. I always make maximum use of the advisory opinions of specialists and experts; that is, I value the opinions of experts in various fields - including economic issues - and I listen to their words, and what is utilized from the experts is conveyed to the people, to the community, and to the officials of the country.

Now, for example, consider improving the business environment, eliminating unnecessary and obstructive regulations, facilitating the receipt of permits - employment permits - creating a single window for obtaining permits - which has been somewhat done, but not to the extent that it should be - or stability of laws, making the economy predictable - so that economic activists can calculate and predict - ensuring investment security, emphasizing incentive policies for productive activities, repeatedly stressing the need to make the production chain knowledge-based in the country, combating corruption, supporting domestic industries, and firmly preventing smuggling, which is one of the necessary tasks that I emphasize to the officials; take this matter seriously; combating smuggling must be completely decisive and ruthless. Consider that now this product is this, let us bring it in for use; no, I said to crush the luxury goods that have been smuggled in; crush them! Otherwise, if you bring it into the market in another way, it will be the same; domestic industry will be harmed; and so on. Creating new international markets for our products, and discussing budget deficits, financial discipline of the government; these are the points we have always repeated. Well, some of these recommendations have been acted upon and have yielded results, while some have not been considered. The discussion of [reducing] regulations and similar matters has truly not been given attention; for example, I was given a statistic that from 1397 to 1400, only 1500 circulars were issued in the customs sector! Well, which one should they act upon? Which one should they read? We must seriously confront these issues.

Well, now our discussion is about production; we have emphasized production a lot in recent years, and I believe production has a significant impact, which you all know well, and I will briefly mention. What I say first is that production is a jihad: I bear witness that you have strived in the way of God as it ought to be; we address this to the Imams of Guidance (peace be upon them) and always say; jihad! Today, production is jihad; why? Because we have repeatedly said that jihad is that effort which is in response to the enemy's attack and movement; it is in opposition to the enemy. Not every effort is jihad; the effort that is directed against the enemy's attack is jihad.

Well, is there any clearer enmity from the enemies regarding the economy of the country? The enemy has attacked from two sides to bring the country's production to its knees: one from the oil and gas side, which is considered the most important source of foreign currency for the country; and the other from the trade side; meaning that nothing should come to the country from oil and gas, which are important sources of foreign currency, and trade with the world should be restricted, creating problems, and facing sanctions. In other words, production should falter, kneel, and be completely destroyed; that is its meaning. When you have no currency, you have no foreign customers, production no longer makes sense; that was their goal. Well, in response to this goal, in the face of this clear enmity, anyone who takes action has engaged in jihad; you producers are acting in this regard; this is jihad. Therefore, pay attention to this point that this work is like this. If your intention is to serve the country, to serve the people for the sake of God, this is the greatest act of worship you are performing.

Of course, fortunately, the enemy could not break the bastion of production; they could not; yes, there were difficulties for people's livelihoods, and blows were dealt, but they could not break the bastion of production in these years, which you are practically demonstrating. Well, fortunately, today the enemy itself admits that the policy of maximum pressure has led to a humiliating defeat for America; these are the expressions of the U.S. State Department, whose spokesperson announced just a few days ago; he said the policy of maximum pressure against Iran has led to a humiliating defeat for America; this is his expression. Thanks be to God; this is due to the efforts that have been made in the country, thanks be to God. This defeat was imposed on the enemy by you entrepreneurs and workers.

One point is that last year I announced "production leap." Production leap is important because if you can truly leap production, all the important economic indicators of the country will change, will transform; production is like this; that is, sustainable employment will be created, unemployment will decrease, exports will flourish, foreign currency income will be provided for the country, inflation rate will decrease; in addition to all these, economic independence will be established in the country, and this will bring national dignity - countries take pride in their economic independence and internal capabilities and become dignified - it ensures national dignity and security, raises national self-confidence, and protects and preserves the economy of the country against shocks imposed from outside or created inside, which, of course, have been considered and stated in the resistant economy policy that was announced.

One point in this regard is the issue of quality. Our emphasis on production is not just about mass production; quality is a fundamental issue. The quality of production must definitely be considered as a principle; this is non-negotiable. If you observe that domestic products are supported - whether through practical support such as tariff supports and banking facilities, or through promotional support, as I have emphasized and some officials have on the issue of supporting domestic production, which has effects and has had - this must lead to the enhancement of quality and also the advancement of technology. The issue of technology is also very important, but for now, I am focusing on the issue of quality, which must lead to the enhancement of product quality.

Unfortunately, we witness in some domestic products that quality is not given attention; this is very bad. There has been so much support for the automotive industry over the years, yet the quality of cars is not good, people are dissatisfied, and they are right; the people's complaints are justified. This industry has not been able to gain customer satisfaction; you must be able to gain customer satisfaction. Therefore, the issue of quality is paramount. Now, if this supportive environment is not used for enhancing quality and is also misused to raise prices, this is another problem; they raise prices without improving quality, but this government and promotional support and preventing, for example, foreign competition leads to price increases; this is very bad. Now I express my dissatisfaction with those responsible for household goods and appliances; we have supported them and named them; I have heard that some items have doubled in price; why? This is not how support should be handled. Well, if we do not raise quality like this, how can we expect to conquer foreign markets? Quality is very effective; this is one point.

Another point regarding production is that the country should pay special attention to job-creating production; some of the country's productions are essential and vital, such as the oil industry, the steel industry, and similar ones, but they do not create jobs as much as some other industries do. Of course, attention to these main industries is necessary, obligatory, and essential, but neglecting job-creating industries is a major problem; this should not happen. Government agencies and banking institutions should work so that production, in the true sense of the word, is directed towards job creation; because the issue of employment is a vital issue for the country. And these important industries can also create a chain of job-creating downstream industries, which are often job-creating. For example, in the oil industry, there are numerous downstream industries, one example being the petro-refineries, which were legislated in the parliament in 1398 and communicated to the government at that time; unfortunately, it has not been followed up, and it should be followed up. These not only bring the medium investments of the people into the field of employment but are also job-creating; such examples exist in industries like steel and others. Banking supports and facilities should be directed towards paying more attention to job-creating industries.

Another point is that in recent years we have relied on knowledge-based industries; this has been repeated many times, stated, and supported; well, it has been good, meaning several thousand knowledge-based industries and enterprises have emerged, and good efforts have been made in this regard, small and medium units have been created; what has been neglected is that we should knowledge-base our large industries. The oil industry should become knowledge-based. We are lagging behind in technology in the oil industry. Some countries in the region are much ahead of us in terms of oil extraction and the technology used in these areas; we have a technological lag in this regard.

Well, who should compensate for this lag? Who should we seek help from? Should a foreign company come to bring us technology? No, I do not believe that. Well, you see how foreign companies operate; they either do not come or come [but] do not act faithfully, or they come [but] abandon the work for some excuse, or they come [but] exploit. Of course, I am not entirely opposed to the arrival of foreign companies, but we must choose. My belief is that efficient domestic entities can do this work for us; that is my belief. I think if, for example, the oil industry officials request the opinions of young people and reflect the assistance they need to our talented, educated, and interested youth, they can certainly solve many problems. We have seen a few examples of this up close; for example, a group of young people came to me and said we can do certain tasks in the oil sector; we connected them with the Ministry of Oil - this was a year or two ago, before the coronavirus - and they accomplished significant tasks, and the officials of that day in the Ministry of Oil expressed gratitude, saying they were able to do great work for us. We should not think that upgrading technology in our various industries, such as the oil industry and others, should only be done by foreign companies; no, ask our talented young people to work, encourage them with your support, and you will see that they can deliver, providing you with the best products; I believe this is the case.

Wherever trust was placed in our youth and they were asked to work, they truly shone; in the true sense of the word, they shone; in all sectors, from coronavirus vaccines to precision-guided missiles. In the case of the coronavirus vaccine, they provided the best, and in the case of precision-guided missiles, they produced the most accurate ones; in the field of nanotechnology, they ranked among the top; in the field of stem cells, at a time when there were few countries in the world that had this capability, they managed to position themselves among the forefront in this important science and very significant biotechnological technology; they have done outstanding work in biotechnology overall. Our youth can accomplish tasks. I believe they can. Let us appreciate these talents and ask them to work; why should they not be able to perform significant tasks in oil extraction? Why? They can, they certainly can; if they are asked to work, supported, and encouraged, they can accomplish tasks.

Another point that we have repeatedly emphasized, but now that the esteemed government officials are here, I reiterate that banking credits should be directed towards production; demand this from the banks; obligate the banks; the Central Bank can seriously activate in this regard. The gap between the growth of liquidity in the country and the growth of our national gross production is astronomical; why? Why should credits be consumed in a way that leads to this massive liquidity without impacting the growth of production in the country? This situation must change; this is now the responsibility of the esteemed government officials; it is expected from Mr. Mokhber, who is capable, and other economic officials of the country to pursue this matter; that is, stop the interaction with banks on the basis that the credits given should go towards production; the Central Bank's oversight on this matter will certainly have an impact; this is a key and important issue. This is one matter.

Another matter is related to agriculture. Well, they mentioned greenhouse cultivation here, and the images they showed were interesting; the points made were good. Of course, these greenhouse cultivations and similar ones are important, but the country cannot be managed solely through greenhouse cultivation. We have soil, we have land, we have water; we must find optimal consumption methods. We must prevent soil degradation; we must prevent water wastage; water is being wasted. I know individuals who have plans in this area of water and soil utilization that are at least testable; we must listen to them; we must seek cooperation from them so that we can promote the country's agriculture; we must knowledge-base agriculture.

We do not lack agricultural graduates in the country. Once, when I traveled to one of the cities, I was told that in this city, no agricultural graduate is unemployed; and there were many; they said we have a large number of agricultural graduates who are all employed in various farms and agricultural works, and farmers benefit from their opinions; that is, they see the benefits, observe them, and the benefits are tangible for them. We must technologicalize agriculture and seriously pursue water conservation. This is also this issue.

The matter I mentioned at the beginning regarding the strategic roadmap, the macro strategic document for industry, is very important; please pursue this. We need a document to be prepared; in this regard, you must prepare and approve the strategic roadmap document for the country's industry. One of the friends pointed out that with the coming and going of governments and changes in governments, [the plan] should not change. If these are available as a continuous, legally approved document, they will be used over the years. Well, there are other points, but the meeting has gone on a bit long, and time is up.

I hope, God willing, that the Almighty God grants you all success and assistance. I sincerely thank all the friends who are striving in the field of production and economic activities, and I request the brothers who are responsible in the government, those responsible in various sectors, or in the parliament, the brothers who are active in the relevant committees, to pay special attention to this important issue, namely the issue of production in the country, to show special consideration, and to remove the obstacles and barriers.

This year we said "support and removal of barriers"; now support is one issue, in my opinion, removing barriers is even more important than support; that is, remove the barriers that exist in the way of production; you can remove them, and thanks be to God, the government officials are working; I see that they are making truly comprehensive efforts; continue this effort, align this effort with the realities of society, and remove these barriers. God willing, after a not too long period, its effects will be felt in people's lives.

I pray to the Almighty God for success for all of you and seek God's grace and mercy for the pure soul of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) and our great martyrs from the Almighty God, and I seek divine grace for the country of Iran, the Iranian nation, and the officials of the country.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.