Addressing the people of Khuzestan, the President said, "I have the same promise that you people of Khuzestan have with the religious jurist, the Revolution. This is not about vote, in our religious culture and cultural system, the place of covenant is much higher than vote, and just as you people are faithful to your covenant with the system and Revolution, I am also faithful to my covenant with you".
On Thursday afternoon during the plans of the second trip of the Popular Administration to Khuzestan province, Ayatollah Dr Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi attended the magnificent and huge gathering of the people of Ahwaz, called Khuzestan an exemplary province in resistance, sacrifice and martyrdom and said, "Iran is indebted to Khuzestan, and today the whole country, especially we the officials, must pay our respects to this province and its loyal and resistant people".
The President stated that God has placed many capacities in Khuzestan, and one of the most important of these capacities is the province's young, efficient and effective forces, and added, "I said at the beginning of the Popular Administration in Ahwaz, and I still say today, that the issue of creating employment and eliminating unemployment is one of the priorities of the province".
Dr Raisi emphasised that the managers and officials of the province should always give priority to the local forces in employing the forces, and stated, "Creating employment is one of the priorities of the Popular Administration, and in this regard, the responsibility is not only on the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare, but all the parts of the country should feel responsible".
Ayatollah Raisi noted, "If necessary, I will travel to Khuzestan 70 times to solve the problems of these people, and if the problems of people of Khuzestan are not resolved, I will not rest".
Addressing the people of Khuzestan, the President said, "I have the same promise that you people of Khuzestan have with the religious jurist, the Revolution. This is not about vote, in our religious culture and cultural system, the place of covenant is much higher than vote, and just as you people are faithful to your covenant with the system and Revolution, I am also faithful to my covenant with you".
Dr Raisi stated that the provincial managers and the relevant managers in the government should make a jihadist effort to fulfil the employment quota of Khuzestan, adding, "The Popular Administration is trying hard to make up for the backwardness in Khuzestan, and for example, the work done during the period of this government in the sewage field is equal to the work done in the last 30 years, and instead of 12 work fronts in the past, today 150 work fronts have been activated in the implementation of the sewer plan".
The President also referred to the implementation of the water supply plan for 1,700 villages in the country, and the plans related to 174 villages of Khuzestan were put into operation this morning, and stated, "In the past year, as many power plants as the entire period of the 12th Administration have been built, and in the field of solving infrastructural deficiencies, jihadist activities are being carried out in the country".
Ayatollah Raisi stated that solving the disputes in the field of water and electricity and creating employment are among the priorities in the agenda of the Popular Administration, and clarified, "All plans related to these sectors are being implemented seriously and I will personally follow them".
Dr Raisi emphasised that it is not possible to fix the backwardness in Khuzestan with ordinary work and it requires a revolutionary and jihadist movement, and said, "Poverty, corruption and discrimination are not in any way what should be seen in the Islamic system, and the Popular Administration has its mission to implement justice and fight poverty, corruption and discrimination".
Ayatollah Raisi further mentioned the issue of providing housing for young couples and added, "Khuzestan has good facilities and capacities to solve the housing problem and necessary planning should be done in providing land, providing facilities and facilitating the issuance of construction permits".
The President stated that the other priority of the government is to complete the half-finished projects and stated, "We intend to prioritise these projects in the budget and credits and eliminate people's concerns about these projects as soon as possible".
In the continuation of his speech, Dr Raisi pointed out and clarified the issue of culture as a very important issue, "The reason why the enemy failed to dominate this country despite conspiracies and seditions and the people of Khuzestan and all of Iran defeated the enemy everywhere in the history of the Islamic Revolution, which the last time we saw in the recent sedition and riots, was the culture of the people of Khuzestan and Iran".
The President named the secret of the resistance of the people of Iran and Khuzestan as the blending of the general culture of the people with religious and revolutionary culture and noted, "This is the original culture that protects the people against various attacks in the real and virtual arenas".
Stating that this culture should be adhered to and protected, Ayatollah Raisi said, "What persuaded the people of Dezful, Khorramshahr, Abadan, Masjed Soleiman and other areas of the province to stay in the province and not leave the field to the enemy was this culture".
Pointing out that government agencies, seminaries, universities, professors and students have a heavy duty in this regard, the President added, "This culture, customs and cultural foundations are the capital of this country and nation".
Stating that I believe that the key to solving the country's problems lies in the capable hands of you people and the youth and serving the government, the President clarified, "Americans and Westerners have not solved the problems of any country so far, and they will not do so for us either. We must stand on our own feet".