Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Petrofin 2025 Innovation Summit, he stressed that the central message of this year’s event is clear: innovation is no longer a luxury—it's the foundation of industrial survival.
Addressing an audience of PGPIC executives, innovators, and technology leaders at the Research Institute of Petroleum Industry, the Vice President said the global petrochemical landscape has entered a decisive new era in which speed, intelligence, and adaptability determine long-term competitiveness. “In today’s world, it is not enough to see; the future belongs to those who understand faster, decide faster, and build faster,” he noted.
He emphasized that Iran has made substantial progress in science and technology over the past two decades, with the growth of universities, knowledge-based enterprises, and a functioning innovation ecosystem. However, the new phase ahead requires translating scientific capability into economic value. “Large industrial enterprises are no longer ordinary players; they are engines of national economic power,” he said.
He stressed that PGPIC is now positioned exactly at this strategic crossroads. To retain and expand its industrial leadership, he argued, the holding must act as a pioneer of innovation and value-chain integration—serving as both a technology catalyst and a creator of real value-added products. “This is the role that leading global companies embrace, where R&D is not a peripheral unit but the central strategic brain of the enterprise.”
He highlighted that the government stands ready to collaborate with PGPIC as a strategic partner—not as a regulator—through public–private innovation initiatives, joint investment in critical technologies, national innovation infrastructure development, and structured commercialization pathways that align science and industry.
The Vice President also praised PGPIC’s establishment of one of the largest industrial venture funds in Iran, initially capitalized at USD 1 billion-equivalent and now on track to reach a USD 5 billion scale. This, he noted, signifies that the company has chosen to “live inside the innovation ecosystem,” building structured engagement from startups to advanced technology developers.
He warned, however, that the global petrochemical sector is undergoing rapid transformation, driven by artificial intelligence, industrial digitalization, and green technologies. These are no longer optional capabilities but existential requirements. “Industries that fail to digitalize will become consumers, not producers, and those that ignore green technologies will face regulatory and environmental barriers worldwide.”
PGPIC, he said, must therefore operate actively across all three transformational domains—with data-driven decision models, predictable processes, and responsible, sustainable technologies at scale.
“Petrofin is not merely an event. It is a signal,” he concluded. “It signals that Iran’s petrochemical industry has decided to open its eyes wider and see the future sooner. Last year, I said the one who sees first is the winner. Today, I add this: the winner is the one who becomes intelligent before the future itself becomes intelligent.”