His Eminence Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Revolution, named the new year 1403 as the year of "Production Leap with Public Participation" in a message commemorating its arrival.
The text of the leader's message is as follows:
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
O Turner of hearts and sights, O Manager of night and day, O Transformer of years and circumstances, change our condition to the best.
I extend my congratulations to the dear people of Iran on the occasion of Nowruz and the new year, which this year coincides with the holy month of Ramadan and the spring of hearts and spiritual renewal. In particular, I congratulate the families of the martyrs and all other nations that celebrate Nowruz.
I remember the dear martyrs and the Imam of martyrs who opened this path for the people of Iran. I hope for the people of Iran to benefit from both springs, both the spring of nature and the spring of spirituality.
Let us reflect on the year 1402, which has just ended, and look at the year we have entered. The year 1402 was filled with sweetness and bitterness, with desires and unintended events, as is the nature of this world and life. In the internal matters of the country, there were significant scientific advancements, technological progress, and foundational production that took place across the country, which were among the sweet news and good tidings. On the other hand, the economic and livelihood issues facing the people were bitter news. The heroic presence of the people in the gatherings on Quds Day and on the 22nd of Bahman, the secure holding of this large demonstration, the safely and securely conducted elections at the end of the year, and other public participation were among the good news and sweetest desires of the past year. The painful incident in Kerman on the anniversary of Martyr Soleimani, the flooding in Balochistan at the end of the year, and the events that happened to security forces and guardians of security during these months were among the bitter events, and the most tragic was the incident in Gaza, which is among our important international issues, and there has been no more tragic incident this year. In foreign matters, the international activities of the government in various economic and political spheres were among the sweet news and desired events, while the incident in Gaza, as we mentioned, was among the most tragic, if not the most tragic, of our foreign issues. We pray to the Almighty God to compensate for the bitterness and continue the sweetness for the people of Iran and the Muslim nations, and to grant us what is a source of goodness and blessings for the Islamic Ummah and the people of Iran.
Regarding the slogan of the year 1402, which was "Controlling Inflation and Increasing Production," commendable efforts were made. In both aspects of the slogan, work was achieved, and progress occurred, though not to the desired extent — which I will elaborate on in today’s speech to the people of Iran — and what has been done was good but must continue. This slogan is not something we can expect to be fully realized in one year; it will continue to be a focus.
In the year ahead, there are many tasks that need to be accomplished, and we must commit ourselves to them, both the authorities of the country, the government, the parliament, the judiciary, and others, as well as all segments of the population; everyone must commit themselves to these various tasks, but this year the major issue of the country is the economy. The fundamental weakness of the country is the economic situation; we must act vigorously in this area.
I conclude from studying the opinions of experts that a key solution to the country’s economic challenges is the issue of production; domestic production, national production. That is why we have focused on production over the past few years. If we can achieve growth in production and advance national production in a desirable manner, many important economic issues, such as inflation, employment, and the value of the national currency, will be positively addressed. Therefore, production is a crucial issue, and for this reason, I will emphasize production this year as well, and I expect that there will be a significant leap in production this year. I firmly believe that this leap will not happen without the participation and presence of the people. If we want to have a production leap, we must make the economy more public-oriented; we must visibly invite the public to be involved in production, removing barriers to their participation. There are significant capacities in the public sector that I will, God willing, explain further regarding this, and these capacities must be activated; they must be utilized for the benefit of the country and the people. Thus, on this occasion, I declare this year's slogan: "Production Leap with Public Participation". This is the slogan for this year. We hope, God willing, this slogan will be realized in the best possible way. The planners of the country should plan, experts should contribute intellectually, and economic activists should practically engage in this endeavor, God willing.
I beseech the Almighty God for the success of the great and dear nation of Iran, and I humbly convey my greetings to the presence of His Holiness, the Mahdi (may our souls be sacrificed for him), and we ask God to hasten his reappearance, which is the reappearance of humanity.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of God and His blessings
