TEHRAN – President Ebrahim Raisi visited Qom Province on top of a high-ranking delegation on Thursday, as the 13th provincial visit since he took office in August, IRNA reported.

Accompanied by members of his cabinet, including Energy Minister, Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister, Agriculture Minister, Culture Minister as well as Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare Minister, Raisi arrived in Qom on Thursday morning for a two-day visit.

As reported, during the visit President Raisi met with provincial officials and discussed the province’s problems in various areas including employment, water, housing, environment and urban issues.

Upon arrival, the president referred to the situation of semi-finished projects in Qom province, saying: “Finishing semi-finished projects is a priority. the province’s airport and other semi-finished projects must be completed. We have considered a plan to solve the problem of Qom airport in a short time."

He also mentioned the government's plans to increase housing capacity in the province, noting that in this regard a comprehensive program has been prepared.

Emphasizing the need to compensate for the backlogs, the President said: "As we move forward, the hopes for a better future increase and we can solve all the problems through interaction and cooperation."

Raisi stated that research centers can be the think tanks of the government, adding that change in the country should be a science-based, a change that is based on knowledge is free of subjective ideas and can solve the country's problems.

“The seventh national development plan of the country is being developed using previous development plans, and the seminary can play an important role in this regard,” he stressed.

During the visit to the province, President Raisi and his ministers also attended a meeting of the administrative council of this province.

Speaking in this meeting, Raisi said every decision made during provincial visits must be taken seriously, as non-implementation of the decrees will lead to public distrust in the government.

Elsewhere in the meeting, Transport and Urban Development Minister Rostam Qasemi delivered a speech, in which he underlined the importance of the city of Qom in terms of being connected to several provinces of the country.

“Launching a passenger train line between Qom and Kashan is possible,” he said.

He also mentioned the Tehran-Qom-Isfahan high-speed train project and said: "The contract for this project, which is a new work in the country, has been finalized with a foreign investor, amounting to four million yuan."

Qasemi had previously inaugurated the project for the construction of 41,500 affordable housing units under the framework of the National Housing Action Plan in Qom Province.

Further in the meeting, Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Reza Fatemi Amin announced the allocation of 600 billion rials (about $20.2 million) for the improvement of the infrastructure of industrial parks as well as 30 trillion rials (about $101 million) for the completion of industrial projects in Qom province.

He also noted that seven major banks are going to sign memorandums of understanding with the Industry Ministry in the next week to provide working capital for the provinces’ production units.

EF/MA