President Rouhani is visiting Western Azerbaijan province in northwest of Iran in a series of ‘provincial visits’ where the Cabinet would hold meetings in the province visited to address provincial problems and unveil economic and construction projects.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran heed the problems of its diverse people; our security now is far more than the territories located beyond the borders but having the same ethnic population; Kurds enjoy better situation in terms of security than their counterparts in Iraq, Turkey, and Syria; it is an honor for the Islamic Republic not to succumb to religion and ethnicity in providing its people with the same level of development and welfare,” Mr. Rouhani addressed a cheerful crowd. “I would not countenance ethnic discrimination; the only guiding principle is the merit and the capability of individuals to carry the responsibilities they receive; the mother tongue of ethnic groups especially of Kurds should be respected and recognized.”
“West Azerbaijan province is neighbor with three countries which provides the province with opportunities to development; this is a duty for government to have friendly relations with all countries once hostile to us,” Rouhani told the crowd.
On Tuesday, President Rouhani also unveiled a petrochemical complex in Mahabad with capacity of 300,000 tons of annual products. It is country’s largest such complex in the northwest and is expected to bring growth to the province.
The complex is site to investment worth of $340mn. Mahabad Petrochemical Complex, as it would be called, will produce 300,000 tons of linear heavy and light polyethylene and 30,000 tons of butane to be supplied to domestic and international markets.
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