Author: 
REUTERS
Publication Date: 
Tue, 2011-09-27 02:58

State news agency SANA said the budget, discussed at a meeting of the government’s council for economic and social planning, would increase to 1,326 billion Syrian pounds ($27.1 billion) next year.
The government would allocate 951 billion to “current expenditure,” while 375 billion would go toward investment, the report said.
Another 386 billion pounds would be spent on social support, including subsidies on electricity, fuel and agriculture, SANA said.
It gave no other details of the budget, which has yet to receive parliamentary approval, nor did it say where the funds for the extra spending would come from.
Six months of unrest in Syria, coupled with US and EU sanctions on its oil exports, have hit the economy hard.
Tourism revenues have collapsed, trade has fallen and the International Monetary Fund forecasts the economy will shrink 2 percent this year.
Businessmen say Syria banned most imports except for raw materials and grains last week in a move to preserve foreign currency reserves.

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