TEHRAN — In runup to transition of power from President Hassan Rouhani to President-elect Ebrahim Raisi on Saturday the ministers of defense, agriculture, communications, the head of the Planning and Budget Organization and the governor of the central bank met separately with President-elect Ebrahim Raisi in his office on Saturday.

Reportedly, Raisi will be sworn in on August 5.

Minister of Defense Amir Hatami, who had previously met with Raisi along with other high-ranking military commanders to congratulate him on his victory in the June 18 presidential election, presented a report on the performance and achievements of his ministry in various areas, including the level of defense readiness in the face of threats.

Minister of Agriculture Kazem Khavazi also congratulated Raisi on his victory and wished success for his future government while briefing him about the issues related to the Agriculture Ministry.

Minister of Communications Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi also wished success for the president-elect and his future government and provided a report on actions of the ministry.

For his part, Raisi thanked the ministers for their kindness and reports about the performance of their ministries and emphasized the need for sharing experiences and seeking cooperation of all sectors to advance his government’s plans in serving the people and improving the current situation.

At the meeting with Raisi, Planning and Budget Organization chief Mohammad Baqer Nobakht presented a report on the economic situation of the country and the challenges facing the incoming government in various fields.

Raisi thanked Nobakht and stressed the need for a comprehensive economic, social and cultural transformation.

For his part, the president-elect said his government will seek structural reforms and adopt new approaches in running the country.

Raisi added “fair distribution and optimal management of facilities and reliance on domestic capability” are essential to change the situation to the benefit of the masses.

Central Bank Governor Akbar Komijani also provided a report on challenges in monetary and banking spheres and the foreign currency reserves as well as the important issues related to the central bank.

The president-elect thanked the central banker for his kindness and his report on the country’s monetary and banking system, emphasizing the need for coordination among his future government’s economic team to solve the problems in this area.

The strategies to reform the financial system and providing foreign exchange resources to provide the basic goods were also discussed during the meeting between Komijani and Raisi.

In previous days, a number of other members of the government’s economic team, including the ministers of oil, industry, and labor, in separate meetings with the president-elect briefed him on the situation of the respective ministries.
SA/PA