Speaking Wednesday at the official inauguration of the Kimia Sanaye Dalahoo and Kimia Sanaye PetroEntekhab Isfahan petrochemical complexes, Mohammad-Jafar Qaem-Panah emphasized the private sector’s role in Iran’s development. “Everyone works for Iran and in the name of Iran. I am pleased that we have a capable private sector, a sector that can build the country,” he said. “The Leader has repeatedly stressed that the economy and production can be managed by the private sector, and President Masoud Pezeshkian shares this belief.”

Qaem-Panah added that the Seventh Development Plan focuses on empowering the private sector to create a better Iran. “The experience of many countries shows that handing over industry and production to private entities facilitates progress. If we remain reliant on state-owned industries and are unwilling to transfer production to the private sector, we will fail to improve quality or productivity. When the private sector operates genuinely, we distance ourselves from rent-seeking and corruption and utilize the country’s resources for development,” he said.

Government’s Role in Policy and Public Protection

The vice president stressed that the government’s role is policy-making and protecting citizens’ rights. “The policy of the government, and the emphasis of the Leader, is to open the door to the private sector. Our role is to set policies and ensure the social security system provides comfort and safety for workers and all those who contribute to the economy,” he said.

Qaem-Panah also highlighted the need to link science and industry. “Production is effective when we also employ the intellectual talent of this land. When science and industry work together, we become increasingly capable, high-quality, and prosperous. For sustainable progress, we must leverage universities and scientific centers, especially those in this region,” he said.

He identified unemployment, poverty, and inflation as the country’s main challenges. “The petrochemical industry combats unemployment by creating jobs and helps reduce poverty by generating wealth. Social problems diminish in a country that produces wealth and provides employment,” he said.

The Kimia Sanaye Dalahoo project, with an annual production capacity of 120,000 tons of standard and high-strength polystyrene and an investment of $56 million, and the Kimia Sanaye PetroEntekhab Isfahan polystyrene project, with an annual capacity of 50,000 tons and a $32 million investment, were inaugurated Wednesday in Bushehr province with the presence of Qaem-Panah and Hassan Abbaszadeh, deputy oil minister for petrochemical affairs.