’Iranian nation have had a long and rich history of scientific advances’

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during the eighth Festival of Iran's National Day of Engineering that the Islamic Republic's progress will have a “leap” forward in the next year which begins on March 21 expressing his deep gratitude to Iranian experts and engineers for their efforts.

During the ceremony, which was coincided with the commemoration of the birth of one of Iranian's great philosophers and scientists, Khaje Nasir Tusi -- born on 18 February 1201 -- Ahmadinejad noted that the Iranian nation have had a long and rich history of scientific advances.

The Iranian president further called on the country's engineers and experts to once again revive the country's standing as the flag bearer in world's civilization and technological progress, IRNA reported.

Ahmadinejad said that Iran has made a huge stride in development and construction, adding that the achievements have been noticeable on multiple fronts ranging from aerospace, biotechnology and nanotechnology to major improvement in housing development in rural areas as well as other parts of the country.

He also expounded on government efforts to allocate more funds for the next fiscal year of 1390 in promoting scientific and technological researches, namely in agriculture and research sectors with nearly $10 billion and $3.5 billion budgets respectively.