First Visit: Pres. Raeisi visits Khuzestan prov. for resolving problems

President Raeisi, who is visiting Khuzestan in an unannounced program, inspected the existing situation in Hoor-Al-Azim Wetland as the largest lagoon in the southern province of Khuzestan.

President Raeisi then flew the Jofeir region, 50 kilometers west of Ahvaz, to review the latest developments in the wetland and Karkheh River to get first-hand information that could pave the way for making final decisions on how to tackle the problems of the region.

Khuzestan province has been facing water challenges since the beginning of this Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2021), which led to public protests downstream of the Karkheh River.

Raeisi started working without any interruption just following 18 Cabinet members were approved by the Iranian Parliament on Wednesday.  

The president, accompanied by four ministers, follows revolutionary moto of fighting corruption and enhancing justice, so, they first traveled to Khuzestan province to meet the needs of residents of the southern province. 

Upon arrival at Ahwaz’s General Ghasem Soleimani Airport, Raeisi said, “I intended to make a visit to the province sooner, but because of the amount of work I had for establishing the government, I wasn’t able to.”

“Khuzestan province has very good people, and they have done their best to defend the country at different times, and we owe them a great deal,” he said.

Emphasising that the government has a duty towards all the people of the country, the president added, “We have additional responsibilities to the people of Khuzestan, and God willing, we will be able to solve some of the problems of this province during this visit, which is a short one.”

He added, “I was very interested in meeting with the good people of the province, but due to the problem of corona and the need to follow health protocols, public meetings are not possible, but in brief meetings with various administrative departments of the province, I will learn more about the problems of Khuzestan.”

The President emphasised, “In this trip, we will consult with the ministers and provincial officials to find appropriate solutions to solve the problems of the province quickly, and appropriate decisions will be designed and adopted.”

Raeisi pointed out, “All my concern and that of the people’s government is to solve the problems of all the people of the country, especially this province, with the participation of the people themselves, and I have no doubt that many of these problems will be solved thanks to God.”

In the second programme of his one-day visit to Khuzestan province, the president visited the COVID-19 section of Razi Hospital in Ahwaz on Friday morning.

Raeisi was accompanied by the Minister of Interior and the Minister of Health and Medical Education and instructed the immediate elimination of medical and health deficiencies, including increasing hospital beds, providing oxygen to medical centres and also meeting the needs of the intensive care unit.

The President also instructed the Interior Minister at the Razi Hospital in Ahwaz to make the necessary follow-up in order to make more use of the capacity of the armed forces’ medical centres to hospitalise COVID-19 patients.

During the visit, Raeisi praised and thanked the health care staff as well as the seminary students at Razi Hospital in Ahwaz.

The President also attended the gathering of the patients’ families and also met with the patients at different sections, followed up on their problems and issued special orders.

This morning, immediately after arriving in Ahwaz, Raeisi visited one of the Ahwaz city sewage projects and visited different parts of the complex and was briefed on the ongoing measures to solve the city’s sewage problem.

During the visit, a complete report on the various stages of the project, including the construction of tunnels, pumping stations, etc., was presented to the President.