TEHRAN – Expediting vaccination against the Coronavirus, improving the people's livelihood and fighting corruption, according to President Ebrahim Raisi, are the three main national priorities of the administration, at least until the end of the current Iranian year, which ends on March 20.

In this regard, the start of the president's intrusive trips to the less developed provinces of the country also indicates the special determination of the Raisi administration to counter poverty.

In a commentary on Friday, IRNA said one week after the first visit of Raisi to the southwestern province of Khuzestan, the president, like his first visit, paid a visit to Sistan-Balouchestan, one of the less developed provinces in the country to get first-hand information about the challenges and problems that the people face in this border province.

Arriving in Chabahar city in the southeastern province of Sistan-Balouchestan through Konarak airport on Thursday, the president immediately started touring different areas of Chabahar.

The trip was accompanied by the ministers of interior, energy, transport and urban development, economy, industry, mining and trade, the head of the planning and budget organization, and the chief of staff of the president. 

Before the trip, the president in different economic meetings and the National Headquarters for Coronavirus Control underlined the three important issues and the main promise of the administration, namely the vaccination project, providing basic goods as well as the fight against corruption. 

Trip to less developed region 

The first visit of the president and his cabinet members to Khuzestan on the first day of the official start of the administration was expected due to the very difficult conditions of the people of the province. 

Campaign against the “corruption virus” can help improve the situation in society.
The second trip to another province, namely Sistan-Balouchestan and visiting Chabahar, shows the determination of the administration to get acquainted with the economic problems of the people of that region and then to fight the root of poverty and inequality in the province that undermine “trust and hope”.

In his second provincial trip, the president visited Makran coasts where he was welcomed by the representative of the Leader in Sistan-Balouchestan, the provincial governor, and a group of other local officials. 

Konarak city is one of the fishing poles in province and about 4,500 fishermen are working on the vessels of this pier. Upon arrival, President Raisi visited the Konarak fishing pier and met with the fishermen.

The second destination of the president was the poor suburb of Moradabad. 

During this intrusive visit, Raisi listened to the problems raised by the residents of the area and then stated in a short remark: "Living in shelters is by no means a desirable form of life and a favorable situation for the people. Improving the situation our fellow Iranians in this region will be very good work." 

After directly observing the realities on the ground, the president issued orders on how to accelerate improving the situation in this deprived area in a meeting of the administrative council of the province.

In the provincial administrative meeting on Thursday, the president emphasized: "We must have a good mechanism for the prosperity of production…, and the issue of the development of Makran coasts must be taken into consideration and pursued in a special way.”

The importance of Makran coasts and Chabahar port due to their access to high seas (the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean) through the ports of Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti, is the most important reason for the president's second provincial trip.

The Makran and Chabahar regions have the potential to increase the province's economic development capacity and greatly reduce poverty in Sistan-Balouchestan.

The development of this region can create a kind of balance in terms of development in the north and south of the country. Creating jobs and economic opportunities and equal services will help significantly to eliminate discrimination and feelings of discrimination in ethnic and religious areas on which a number of Iran's enemies have counted on. 

Understanding this important issue and awareness about the challenges is promising. It will help continue the process of fighting poverty by relying on the internal capacities and national and God-given resources of the country.

What is a priority for the administration?

In addition to addressing the issue of fighting poverty in less developed provinces, the administration and the president at the national level, have so far raised three main priorities as their most important concern, the first of which is how to deal with Coronavirus and national vaccination. 

Before leaving for the border province, the president stressed the need to accelerate the supply of vaccines through imports and domestic products. He said: "One of the essential issues in the vaccination process is fair distribution of the vaccine based on priorities and the necessary arrangements must be made for its fair distribution in the provinces."

Proper distribution was also one of the interesting points that President Raisi underscored in his trip. It seems that it is of special importance to pay attention to this issue due to the various and uncoordinated statements. 

"Remarks about the various aspects of the disease and related issues should be organized with the aim of creating maximum hope and avoiding anxiety and fear among the people," the president said.

He noted, "In no way should we prevent experts from commenting on corona, but we should note that the venue for expert discussions is not in the public, but in specialized forums and circles."

Another key issue is the provision of essential goods in the difficult days of the Coronavirus pandemic and the economic recession coupled with inflation.

In this regard, at a meeting of the government's economic coordination headquarters, Raisi said: "With the coordination and measures taken, the supply and storage of basic goods has enjoyed an acceptable trend and there is no problem in this regard." 

The president had previously stressed that there were concerns about stocks of basic goods. 

The third and, of course, one of the most fundamental issues for the administration is the serious and practical fight against corruption. 

In the joint meeting of the presiding board of the Parliament and expert commissions of the Assembly of Experts on Thursday, the president pointed out that the fight against corruption and the fair distribution of facilities are among his administration’s priorities.

"The administration will prevent special privileges for a certain number of individuals... The fact is that special privileges for some people along with corruption and discrimination have put more pressure on people, even more than the sanctions and corona."

Due to his precious experience in fighting corruption during his tenure as a top judge before being elected as president, the president can continue the struggle against corruption. Campaign against corruption can help eradicate the role of the “corruption virus” in society and improve the situation.