TEHRAN – In a New Year message on March 20, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said a further surge in production is needed in the country, saying the slogan of the New Year is “Surge in Production”.

“Last year’s slogan was ‘Boosting Production’. This year, I want to say that we need a further surge in production - as the slogan of the year. This year is the year of ‘Surge in Production’. This is the slogan of the year.” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

Following is an excerpt of his remarks published by Khamenei.ir:

As for the slogan of the year, the year 1398 was the year of boosting production and I will tell the Iranian nation that this slogan was welcomed in practice. In the beginning, experts welcomed it, saying that production was the main criterion, but it received a warm reception in practice as well. According to reliable reports that I have received, the production of the country moved forward. Some of the factories that had stopped working and that had closed down returned to work and in the case of those which worked below their capacity, they increased their capacity. Knowledge-based companies entered the arena and various organizations made good endeavors as a result of which, production was boosted.

The issue of research which is the fountainhead of production was seriously pursued in the country and we witnessed instances of that. Well, these tasks have been carried out in the country and it is not the case that no work has been done. However, what I want to say is that what has already been done is not even one-tenth of what the country needs. Of course, “one-tenth” is not a hard statistical figure, but I estimate it to be around one-tenth. This means that we need to do ten times more work – including research, work-related to production and various other tasks – so that boosting production can exert its effects on the lives of the people.

In the year 1398, production was roused and it moved forward, but its effects in the lives of the people were not yet tangible. We should make production reach a point where it can influence people’s lives. Of course, the economic issues of the country are many. There are issues such as reforming the banking system, the customs regulations, the taxing system and improving the business environment and other such issues, but the role of production is a unique and peerless one.

Considering the large market that exists inside the country, if we manage to boost production, the main activity will be in our domestic market with our eighty-million population, despite the fact that production needs foreign markets. Of course, we can interact with foreign markets as well. If we can move production forward, God willing, economic problems will definitely come to an end and the sanctions that they imposed will prove to be to our advantage.

Of course, they have inflicted some damage until now, but they have also generated profits as well because they have made us think about our own resources, about manufacturing products and about satisfying the needs of the country through relying on domestic resources. This is very valuable to us and by Allah’s favor, it will continue. Therefore, we continue to need production.

Last year’s slogan was “Boosting Production”. This year, I want to say that we need a further surge in production - as the slogan of the year. This year is the year of “Surge in Production.” This is the slogan of the year. Officials should act in a way that production will witness a surge, God willing and that there will be a tangible change in the lives of the people.

Of course, this requires planning. The Planning and Budget Organization, the Islamic Consultative Majlis as well as its research center and the judiciary branch have a role, each in a different way. The judiciary branch has a part to play as well. Knowledge-based companies and young and innovative organizations, which are thankfully large in number, have a role to play as well. Throughout the year – the year 1398 – and the year before that, I had very good and valuable meetings with some of them. I saw them and listened to them up close. They are youth who are interested in working and who are really hopeful, energetic, motivated, talented and creative. Such groups of people thankfully exist and they should participate in planning. This task should move forward with planning, God willing.