DAMASCUS - During the third session of its 1st regular course which was chaired by Speaker Mohammad Jihad al-Lahham, the People's Assembly was briefed by Minister of Economy and Trade Mohammad Nidal al-Shaar on the state of Syria's economy in light of the crisis taking place and the unjust sanctions imposed on the country.
Al-Shaar underlined his ministry's steps to avoid the ramifications of the sanctions and its future plans for emerging from the crisis and rising up with the Syrian economy, explaining the social market economy policy used by the previous government and the accompanying financial and banking strategies, along with agreements which were signed with neighboring countries and their impact on industry.
He said that these policies caused contradictions and distortions in Syria's production and conception patterns, most severe of which was that Syria's factories became consumers of imported goods, stressing that liberating trade must be done after enabling national economy and protecting it.
He said that the Syrian economy faced several tests during the crisis, primarily the general increase in prices, the change in citizens' consumption patterns and their reduced buying power, especially after suspending free trade agreements with neighboring countries which raised the prices of raw materials and in turn increased production costs and prices in general.
Al-Shaar posited that the early independence of the Central Bank of Syria caused damage to Syria's fiscal policies, especially after allowing the funding of private sector imports, saying that Syrian economy needs a restructuring and a reconstruction of the entire economic process, which involves suspending the funding of private sector imports in foreign currency and limiting it to medical and food imports.
He also said this restructuring would require protecting national industry, reopening closed factories, and coordinating fiscal and economic policies.
Al-Shaar stressed that the economic sanctions had a negative impact of citizens' livelihoods, noting that the Economy Ministry was unable to control prices across the country, adding that the rise in prices of some locally-manufactured products and goods is due to the increasing taxes, customs, transport and insurance fees.
He said that despite the economic pressure, Syria's exports are still good, with some industrialists in Aleppo reporting that exports this year have been better than in previous years.
Al-Shaar concluded that prices in Syria are still lower than in neighboring countries, but the problem appears when they're compared to salaries and wages and the conditions of those limited income, underlining the government's role in improving citizens' buying power by raising salaries and wages.
Discussions by teh Assembly's members focused on the necessity of determining the suitable economy type to be followed in the current period to face the economic sanctions imposed on the Syrian people and the Ministry's measures in concluding cooperation agreements with the friendly countries.
The members also focused on determining the relationship between the Ministry of Economy and Trade and the Central Bank of Syria and the solutions proposed to address the impacts of inflation and unemployment.
They criticized the practices of the current economic policy as considered close to the free market economy, which they said led to subordination, undermining the public sector capabilities and turning the Syrian economy from an agricultural and industrial one into an economy that is based on non-productive and non-developmental activities.
Focus was also placed on the importance of bolstering the productive potentials of the national economy, the fair distribution of resources, achieving sustainable social development and giving support to the provision monitoring and consumer protection bodies.
The members called for boosting the competitiveness of the Syrian economy and the public sector in particular and reconsidering the economic feasibility of importing which has affected the national products.
They also called for determining the Ministry's measures regarding calculated economic openness and establishing free trade zones with the friendly countries, stressing the need for developing the agricultural sector, reducing customs fees on its production requirements and providing decent living requirements for peasants to settle them in their lands.
© SANA (Syria Arab News Agency) 2012
