Jahangiri said that Urmia lake does not belong to West Azarbaijan alone; rather it is a main hub for economic development and livelihood.
Big jobs have been done over the past years to revive the lake as a major hub of life and development, he said.
Jahangiri acknowledged demography of West Azarbaijan province in light of different ethnic groups and followers of different religions, saying that the province has nurtured great commanders and martyrs and it is a symbol of coordination and coexistence among the ethnic tribes and different religions. Young soldiers followers of different religions devoted their lives to safeguard the country from Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi dictator, who invaded Iran in September 1980.
The then UN Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar declared Iraq as the aggressor and presented his report to the UN Security Council.
United Nations delegation on December 9, 1991, in a report to the UN secretary general citing the documents, made clear that Iraq was the aggressor and the initiator of the deadly war and that Iran withstood disproportionate imposed war 1980-1988.
Given its location, Urmia Lake, is among the three countries of Turkey, Azerbaijan Republic and Iraq, it boasts of a great potentials for development, Jahangiri said.
Jahangiri is currently on a visit to Orumiyeh to inaugurate medicare and sports centers and inspect the situation of Urmia Lake.
He was accompanied by the energy minister and the minister of health, treatment and medical education and the head of Department of Environment (DOE).
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