TEHRAN – Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, on Tuesday notified Iran’s three government branches (President Ebrahim Raisi’s administration, parliament, and the judiciary) about the country’s new policies aimed to bring sea-based developments to a new level. 

The Raisi administration is now obliged to present a comprehensive plan based on the new policies, including the submission of bills, approval of regulations, and necessary executive actions, with the assistance of parliament, the judiciary, and responsible organizations within a six-month period.

Ayatollah Khamenei defined the oceans as “divine blessings” that should be utilized for the development of science and technology. He said effective actions must be taken to ensure Iran will have an important regional and international position on seas and oceans across the world.

The new policies, which have been announced after consultations with the Expediency Council and are in accordance with Article 110 of the constitution, are as follows:

1- Integrated maritime policy-making and national division of labor and agile and efficient sea management to consolidate maritime power in the region, and in the world. 

2- Expansion of sea-based economic activities and establishment of commercial hubs in coasts and islands. The aim is to leverage ocean-based economy at an exponential rate. 

3- Facilitation and development of domestic and foreign investments through the creation of necessary infrastructure.

4- Formulation of a comprehensive sea-based development plan which takes into account agriculture, tourism and trade in Iran’s southern coasts. The plan should be out within a year.  

5- Maximizing and optimizing the use of marine ecosystem capacities, resources, and reserves while preventing environmental destruction by other countries.

6- Provision and promotion of human capital and committed and efficient management. There should also be sufficient support for research and scientific activities in the field of marine ecology and technology. 

7- Expansion of economic and trade cooperation with neighboring countries, as well as other states, in order to develop the marine capacities of the country and take part in international and regional projects.

8- Increasing the country's share in maritime transportation and transit by creating and strengthening a combined transportation network.

9- Supporting local investors through development projects and supporting economic activists and small and medium-sized enterprises in various fields including fishing, agriculture and tourism. 

In recent years, Iran has put great emphasis on maritime development and made several efforts to expand its naval presence in the high seas. It was announced in October that the Iranian navy plans to permanently deploy forces to different oceans. The country has also declared plans for a naval base in Antarctica. 

Both announcements came after the Iranian Navy’s 86th flotilla managed to complete an eight-month mission that involved sailing around the world. The flotilla, which wrapped up its round-the-world trip in May, consisted of the Dena destroyer and Makran forward base ship. It sailed across the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans without needing assistance from land and traveled 63,000 kilometers while crossing the Equator four times.

MHA/PA