TEHRAN – More than 15,000 development projects will be inaugurated across the country by the end of Government Week (August 30).Deputy Interior Minister Mehdi Jamalinejad said that more than 123 trillion rials (about $400 million) have been invested in 15,830 projects which are going to come on stream nationwide, IRNA reported.He went on to say that 2,501 other projects will start on the occasion of Government Week.Deputy interior minister: More than 2,500 other projects will start across the country. Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on August 24 that more than 4,500 rural development plans will be inaugurated on the occasion of Government Week.A total of 31 trillion rials (nearly $103 million) for the eradication of deprivation in rural areas was approved by the Majlis (Iranian Parliament) in the budget bill for the current Iranian calendar year (March 2022-March 2023).Comprehensive development plans aim to develop rural areas in line with cultural, economic, and social conditions, as well as housing provision for the rural residents and improving environmental services.There are around 40,000 villages in the country with more than 20 households, for all of which comprehensive development plans have been approved every 10 years.Many efforts have been made over the past couple of years by the government to support villagers and slow down the trend of migration from rural areas to cities.Rural tourism, agritourism, religious tourism, and ecotourism are alternatives or complementary economic activities that could further stimulate rural development while decreasing rural community dependency on one main economic sector (agriculture, forestry, energy, or mining).Since 2003, some 37,919 village administration offices have been established nationwide, offering services to about 95 percent of the country's rural population.MG